The Cullenary School
by kaitlintheclarinet
Summary: Roommates Bella Swan and Rosalie Hale get full ride scholarships to "The Cullenary School". It is run by Esme and her children Alice, Edward, and Emmett. What will happen when they all meet? Will this be a recipe for disaster? AH AU OOC cannon couples rxr
1. Getting Ready for School

**A/N So this is my first fanfiction. I hope that you guys like it. RxR, please. I'd love to know what you guys are thinking about this or any ideas you have about where the story should go. Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight nor do I own any of its characters.**

You know the feeling you get when you are going down a hill? Your insides feel like they are jumbling around in your chest. Yeah, that's how I feel right now.

It was finally September 1st and it was the first day of culinary school. I got accepted to "The Cullenary School." It was run by the amazing chef Esme Cullen and her children Alice, Edward, and Emmett.

Esme was such an inspiration to me. She was like Emeril on steroids. The things she could do with a few simple ingredients still amazed me. I had all of her cookbooks, watched all episodes of her television show, and had all of her cooking utensils.

I had always wanted to be a chef, ever since I was about ten-years-old. I was always in charge of the cooking at my house. My father, Charlie, had a habit of burning everything he tried cooking, so he gave me the task of cooking. I loved seeing his reactions when I tried out a new recipe or changed up one we both new and loved. I was a very experimental cook.

I excitedly showered and blow dried my hair. My roommate and best friend, Rosalie, laid out a comfortable but flattering outfit of a three quarter sleeved navy blue shirt, blue jeans, and white tennis shoes. I was forever grateful for her – I was a fashion _disaster_. She was also accepted to "The Cullenary School" on full scholarship.

Rosalie was the epitome of perfection. She was the all American girl with long, wavy blonde hair and dark blue eyes that looked violet in certain lighting. She was tall – about 5'10" and had curves in all the right places. Not only was she beautiful but she was smart. She loved to tinker around with cars and she was an extremely talented chef. She was very loyal friend and honest. She always got straight to the point and never held anything back.

On the other hand, I was completely average. I had long, straight brown hair and large brown eyes. I stood at a very average 5'4" and was naturally skinny. I had subtle curves, but they, along with me, paled in comparison to Rosalie.

I pushed my self-conscious thoughts out of my mind and slipped on the outfit Rosalie laid out for me. It looked pretty good on me. I finished getting ready and went downstairs to cook us some breakfast since Rosalie made us dinner last night.

I wasn't sure what I wanted to make. French toast didn't sound too good and we had waffles yesterday. Omelets sounded good, so I planned on making them.

I went in the fridge and got eggs, cheese, milk, bacon, ham, butter, bread, and orange juice. Rosalie came downstairs while I was cooking the food.

"Morning Bells," said Rosalie. "I thought I smelled omelets. I _love_ omelets!"

I smiled at her while she sat down at our table and said, "Yep, you were right. I thought omelets sounded good so here we are."

I noticed that the food was done so I turned off the burner and moved the omelets to our plates.

"Mmm," she said as she took her first bite. "You are truly a wonderful person and I love you."

"I do try," I replied. "Although I think you only like me for my food."

"You caught me," she said and we both laughed. "So, are you excited to start school?"

"Of course!" I exclaimed. "I can't believe that I _actually_ get to work with _the_ Esme Cullen! How about you?"

"Are you kidding?!" she asked. "I haven't been this excited since we graduated! Have you _seen_ the hunkiness that is also known as Emmett and Edward?"

"Duh, Rose," I answered. "They used to help Esme along with their sister, Alice, on her show."

Alice was beautiful like a little porcelain doll. She was barely five feet tall and she was extremely slender. She had short, spiky black hair that framed her face in layers and had hazel eyes.

Emmett was very tall – probably about 6'2" - and very muscular. You could tell he worked out regularly. He had curly, dark brown hair and hazel eyes. He was very good looking, but he looked really intimidating.

Edward was the most handsome man I had ever seen. He was tall too – he was about six feet tall and he was lightly muscled. He had the strangest colored hair – it wasn't brown but it wasn't red – it was somewhere in between and he had dark green eyes. I definitely had a little crush on him.

"Yeah, Emmett is a hunk and I want him," she said. "I wonder if his arms aren't the only thing that's big on him," she added a little huskily.

"Okay, that was a little more than I needed to know," I told her. "I don't think you'll have a problem getting him though. He'll go insane just looking at you. I, on the other hand, want Edward, but he could never want someone like me. I am the epitome of average."

"Bella, for the millionth time, you are not average!" she said angrily. She hated when I bashed myself. "You are beautiful and he would be stupid not to see what a catch you are. You just need to be more confident in yourself. Take the confidence you have when you cook and bring it to your self esteem."

"I'll try," I replied. "Are you done?"

"Yeah, give me your plate," she said. "I'll do dishes since you cooked."

"Thanks," I said gratefully. "I'll go get your keys."

Rosalie drove a red BMW M3 convertible. I thought it was ostentatious but she loved it. It was very _her_ though. It was impossible not to look at, just like her.

I drove a 1953 Chevy Pickup truck and I loved it. It was a faded red color and it didn't go faster than sixty miles per hour but I loved it – it had personality.

She came back and said, "Okay. Let's go!"

We got in her convertible and headed to the school. She was driving really fast, and normally I would scold her for it, being the daughter of the chief of police, but I was too nervous to speak.

When we got there, I was on the verge of a nervous breakdown. Rosalie noticed and came up to me and said, "Calm down, Bella. You will do great. I promise. Now get your cute little tush in there and kick some ass!"

I took a couple of deep breaths to calm me down before replying. "Okay," I told her. "I can do this. Let's go."

She linked arms with me as we made our way inside.


	2. The First Day of School

**A/N Okay, so here's Chapter two. I hope that you like it. Please read and review. I want to know what you think whether it be good or bad. Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight or any of its characters.**

We walked into the school and the sight in front of me was amazing. There were five silver countertops with two rows of two and one larger one in the front. There were broilers and stoves on one side of the room, a giant fan above us, and sinks and plates on the other side.

"How about we sit at this one?" Rose asked me as she pointed to the counter to the right of the demonstration table.

"Yeah, that works," I answered. I wanted to be towards the front so I could get a better learning experience.

We walked over to our new counter and put on our aprons and hair nets. I noticed that the other counters were being claimed and I was glad that we got ours when we did.

Rosalie nudged me in my side and pointed to the front of the classroom. The Cullens had finally arrived and took their place by the demonstration table.

Alice and Emmett were engaged in a conversation. I noticed that Rosalie's eyes were glued to Emmett. My attention, however, lingered on Esme and Edward. They were also engaged in a conversation, although theirs seemed a lot tenser than Alice and Emmett's was.

Esme cleared her throat and the soft chatter died away instantly. "Hello everyone," she said kindly to us. "As you all know, I'm Esme Cullen. I am so pleased to see you all here before me. I was thinking before we start, we should introduce ourselves and say one random fact about you. Would you like to start, Alice?"

"Sure, Mom," she replied. "My name is Alice Cullen and I love everything fashion." She looked over at Edward pointedly.

"My name is Edward Cullen," he said. His voice was unlike anything I'd ever heard before. It was silky and smooth like velvet. God, I was getting turned on by his voice. "I enjoy playing the piano." Mmm, so he's also a musician. He turned to Emmett.

"My name's Emmett Cullen and I love all kinds of sports." He looked over at Rosalie and raised his eyebrows.

"Um, my name is Rosalie Hale and I love to tinker around with cars." She sounded nervous which was very weird for her. She was usually Miss Confident. She had it bad for this boy.

"My name's Bella Swan," I said a little shakily. I cleared my throat and continued. "I enjoy reading the classics." I looked over at the person to my right pointedly.

"My name is Jasper Whitlock," he said. He was tall – about 6'1" and lanky. He had shaggy blonde hair and blue eyes. He was a very calming person. "I love studying American History – particularly wars."

"My name is Jacob Black," the boy said. He was extremely tall – he looked about 6'7" and was very muscular. He had russet colored skin and shoulder length black hair and black eyes. "I also love to tinker with cars." He looked over at Rosalie and smiled. She didn't seem impressed. He turned around to signal the next person to go.

"My name is Mike Newton and I like hiking," he said. He was good looking in a generic way. He had spiky brown hair and big blue eyes. He looked to be about 5'10" and looked like he was muscular.

"My name is Eric Yorkie," the boy said. "I enjoy learning." He was the same height as Mike but had greasy black hair and brown eyes and skin problems. He reminded me a little of Severus Snape from Harry Potter. He looked over at the next person.

"My name is Jessica Stanley and I like movies." She was about 5'1" and was a little chubby. She and thick, curly brown hair and brown eyes. Her hair was so big that it looked like we were both the same height. She looked at her partner.

"Like my name is Lauren Mallory and I like to do cheerleading." She was about 5'5" and skinny. She had long blonde hair and brown eyes. I didn't think that I was going to like her very much. There was just something about her nasally voice that I didn't like.

"Wonderful," Esme said. "I am very pleased to meet you all. I want to spend today getting to know everyone. My children and I are going to wander around the tables to get to know you all better."

I couldn't help but hope that Edward was going to be at our table, but I hadn't been known to be a lucky person. Luck, however, seemed to be on my side as he walked over to our table.

"Hi," he said politely. "How are you doing?"

I was speechless. I probably looked like a complete idiot in front of him. Rosalie was there to save the day for me.

"We're good," she told him. "We're both just nervous to be here. Bella over here has idolized your mother forever it seems." Wow, Rose, way to feed me to the sharks.

"Is that so?" he asked. "What is your favorite recipe that she's done?"

Oh. My. God. He was talking to me! What do I do? What do I say? Ok, answer his question, Bella. "I loved her antipasto skewers. I also loved her mushroom ravioli. Both were delicious. But not at the same time, obviously - that would be weird." I was totally making a fool out of myself. He probably thought that I was an idiot.

"Those are some of my favorite recipes as well," he told me as he smiled at me. His smile was a little crooked, curving a little higher on the right side. It was absolutely breathtaking. "It seems that we have similar tastes." My breath hitched in my throat. Was he flirting with me? I was probably imagining it. I've always had an overactive imagination.

"It appears we do," I replied and tried giving him a seductive smile. I figured I was already making a fool out of myself, so I might as well do it thoroughly.

"Um, I think I'm going to go talk to some of the other people now, but it was nice meeting you, Bella," he said. "You too, Rosalie," he added before he walked over to Jasper's and Jacob's table.

"God, I just made the biggest fool out of myself!" I exclaimed. "He definitely must think that I'm an idiot!"

"You are totally overreacting, Bells," she told me. "There was so much sexual tension in that conversation that I could practically cut it with a butter knife! He likes you, he likes you! Edward Cullen likes you!" she sang.

"Shut up," I said as I lightly smacked her arm. "He does not. Anyway, Alice is coming over here so we are ending this discussion right now."

Alice was a very graceful person – she seemed like she was dancing as she made her way over to us.

"Hey guys!" she said brightly. "I can't wait to get to know you guys better. I just have a feeling that we are going to be great friends. So how do you like this school? Are you excited to learn from my mother? She's amazing, isn't she?" Jeez, does that girl ever _breathe_?

"Yeah, we really like it here so far," Rosalie told her. "It's a really nice set up you have going on here. We can't wait until we finally start learning. It's going to be great."

"My mom and I set this place up when we opened it," she said. "My mom is not only an amazing chef, but she's a wonderful interior designer. You should see our house – it's _amazing_! I have to show you guys sometime!"

"That would be cool," Rosalie said. "I'm sure it's wonderful, don't you think, Bella?"

"Yeah, that would be really cool," I said. "Thank you for inviting us."

"It's no problem!" she exclaimed. "Well, I should probably get going to a different table, but it was really nice meeting you guys!" She gave us each a hug and walked over to Mike's and Eric's table.

"That girl is a bundle of energy!" I exclaimed. "And I think I like it! She is so….anti-me."

Rosalie just laughed at me and said, "Because I'm not anti-you at all. Well, I like her too. We should invite her to dinner or something sometime."

"That would be cool." I looked over at who was coming over next and smirked at Rosalie. "Well would you look at who's coming up next?" I whispered to her as I nudged her lightly. She looked up and blushed – actually blushed. Who is this girl and what has she done with my best friend?

"Hey guys," he said to us. "So, do you like 'The Cullenary School' so far?"

"Yeah, it's great so far," I told him. "I really like your siblings." Especially that beautiful Adonis that is your brother, I added in my head.

"That makes one of us," he said with a laugh. He is a lot cooler than I thought he would be. "What about you?" he asked Rosalie.

"Yeah," she said. "It's great. Everything looks delicious here – good enough to eat." She gave him a seductive smile and it definitely worked.

"I know I'm not really supposed to do this but do you want to go to dinner with me?" he asked her. "You seem like a really cool girl and I _definately_ want to get to know you better," he added with a wink.

"Yeah, I would really like that," she said with a giggle. What – she never giggled! This man does crazy things to her.

"It's settled then," he said triumphantly. "If you could just put your number in my phone I can call you and let you know when I'm going to pick you up," he said as he pulled out his phone. It was a Blackberry – not surprising considering how rich they all were.

"Okay," she said as said as she grabbed his phone. She smiled as she handed the phone back and said, "There you go. I hope to hear from you soon."

"Definitely," he said. "Well, I should probably go now. I'll talk to you later, Rose. See ya, Bella," he waved as he walked over to Jessica's and Lauren's table.

"Emmett Cullen called me Rose!" she exclaimed as she giggled again. "Emmett Cullen is going on a date with me! I feel like I could scream right now!"

"Rose, I call you Rose all the time – it's not that big of a deal," I reminded her. "And screaming probably wouldn't be the smartest idea. We are in the middle of class."

"Yeah, you're right," she sighed. "I'm just so happy. I've never felt this way about a guy before. He's just so amazing!" She started getting lost in her thoughts and I had the feeling that I didn't want to know what she was thinking.

"Okay, calm down, Rose," I said. "Esme is going to be here in just a sec!" My voice had risen excitedly and I realized that I was being very hypocritical. It didn't matter, though – she was still lost in her little Emmett bubble.

Esme was more beautiful in person than she was on television. She had wavy chocolate colored hair and hazel eyes. She was the same height as me but she was curvier. At fifty-years-old she didn't look a day older than thirty. She was also very graceful in her movements as she walked over to us.

"Hello, Bella and Rosalie," she said in a friendly voice. "I truly appreciate you coming to my school."

"No, thank you for accepting us to your school and on full ride scholarships," I told her gratefully. "You are my inspiration and I want to be able to cook just like you."

Tears started to well up in her eyes as she looked at me. "You have no idea how it feels for you to say that to me. I can't wait to teach you my secret recipes."

"I can't wait to learn," I told her eagerly. "If you don't mind me asking, what made you want to open 'The Cullenary School'?"

"It's no problem," she assured me. "I have loved cooking since I was a little girl. I loved to try new recipes and see people's reactions when I changed up one's they already knew. Working on my television show was great, but I wanted to work with people on a more personal level, so I retired and opened this school. I end up thinking of my students as my children and treat them as such. I have a feeling that you are very special, Bella."

I couldn't believe my ears. She was just like me. If I idolized her before, then I practically worshiped her now. She touched me just as deeply as I touched her with my words.

"Thank you so much, Mrs. Cullen," I told her. "I really appreciate all you are doing for Rose and me."

"Your welcome, sweetheart," she said. "Well, I should probably get to the front and address the class, but it was wonderful to talk to you two." She smiled at us as she walked to the front.

"Alright everyone," she announced to the class. "We seem to be at the end of our class for today. I hope you all had as much fun getting to know each other as I did. I look forward to seeing you all on Wednesday."

We took off our aprons and hair nets and started to leave when Emmett came over to us and said, "I just want to let you know that I'm really looking forward to our date, Rose. I was wondering do you want to make it a double date? I could invite Edward for Bella. I'm sure they would have a good time together." My eyes lit up. A date with _the_ Edward Cullen?! Sign me up immediately!

"Well, it's up to Bella here," she told him. "Bella, would you like to go on a date with us?" She winked at me so that Emmett couldn't see.

"Um, yeah," I told him. "That would be cool. I wouldn't want to impose, though."

"It would be my pleasure," he said as he kissed my hand. "I'll tell Edward that you are coming with us. I'll talk to you guys later," he said and kissed Rosalie's cheek and walked off.

I must be dreaming. This could not seriously be happening. I was going on a date with Edward Cullen. When did my luck get to be so good?

Both of us were lost in our thoughts as we left the school.


	3. The First Day of School EPOV

**A/N This is my first attempt at EPOV. Please let me know what you think. Seriously…click the box that says Review this story/chapter. It would make me smile.**

**On a similar note, thank you to ch33ki monki3 and tjmul for adding this story to your favorite stories. It really means a lot to me that you enjoy my story. I hope you like this one.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or any of its characters.**

EPOV

_My fingers weaved their way into her luscious mahogany hair as I continued attacking her mouth with my own. They were so soft and fit perfectly with mine - like it was meant to be._

_I kissed my way down her face, making a trail of kisses from her lips to her neck. She smelled like strawberries and freesia and it was intoxicating. I began sucking and biting at the soft flesh that was provided for me. She tasted sweet and sinful at the same time – sinfully sweet._

_"Mmm, Edward," she moaned. "That feels so good." She tightened her arms around my neck as she said this._

_I broke away only to start taking her shirt off. I knew that the sooner I got her shirt off, the sooner that her perfect mounds would be available to me._

_She arched her back and lifted her arms to allow me to take the shirt off. Shit – she wasn't wearing a bra. I wasn't expecting that and I involuntarily groaned before taking one in my mouth. Her taste was so much more potent here. Not wanting to neglect her other breast, I grabbed it with my hand and started rolling her nipples around. She moaned loudly._

_I felt her fingers pushing my shirt up so I broke away to take off my own shirt. She moaned and smiled seductively at me. Oh, God, that smile took my breath away. I growled and attacked her mouth again._

_I began stroking her through her jeans and felt that she was soaking wet – for me. I did this to her. My already prominent erection grew harder at the thought and began straining against my pants. She moaned again as she felt my erection on her stomach and reached down to stroke me. God, this woman was going to be the death of me._

_I reached up and unbuttoned and unzipped her pants. I silently asked her if this was okay and she nodded. I pulled them down and was greeted by lacy black boy shorts. I stroked her again without the barrier of jeans and she gasped at the sensation._

_"You are wearing too many clothes," she said breathlessly. I felt her hands unbutton and unzip my jeans and pull them down to my ankles along with my boxers._

_"Mmm," she moaned. "You are so big." She started stroking my length and I groaned at the feel of her soft, small hands on me. I needed to feel her without her underwear so I pulled them to the side and started rubbing my fingers around her lips. She was positively drenched for me. I stuck two fingers in her pussy and her hips bucked against me – she was ready for me, but i wanted to make sure._

_I pulled my fingers out and asked her, "Are you ready for me?"_

_"Yes, please," she moaned. "I need you – right now. I need to feel you inside of me."_

_Fuck, that was really hot. I leaned over and grabbed the condom that was on the table and wrapped it around my dick. I placed myself at her entrance and looked into her eyes. They were the color of chocolate and I could stare into her eyes forever._

_She stared back into my eyes and opened her mouth._

_"Wake up!" she screamed at me. Wait, what? Why is she yelling at me to wake up?_

_"Edward Anthony Masen Cullen!" She yelled. "Get your ass out of bed!"_

I felt myself being shaken awake roughly. Damn pixie of a sister – she's stronger than she looks.

"What the fuck?" I asked her angrily. I was pissed that she woke me up in the middle of the greatest dream ever. That chocolate-eyed goddess was like a siren call to me. "Why are you waking me up so damn early?"

"Because it's the first day of school, knucklehead," she said as she rubbed my hair. "I have an outfit ready for you on your dresser so hurry up and get ready. We don't want to be late!" She got up and left me to my thoughts.

Shit. That meant that it was September 1st. Where did the time go? It felt like summer break had just started…

I unhappily got out of bed and ran my fingers through my unruly hair. It was impossible – it stuck up every direction and it always looked like I had a good fucking last night. _Yeah,_ I thought. _Only in my dreams_.

I got ready and put on the outfit that Alice had laid out for me. It was business casual – a dark blue button down shirt and khaki slacks. It wasn't too bad. I ran my fingers through my hair again and proceeded to go downstairs.

Mom was making us breakfast and it seemed like she was making the works; eggs, pancakes, waffles, bacon, toast, and orange juice. She must be in a really good mood today. I grabbed myself a plate and made my way to the table where Emmett was already chowing down his food.

"Morning Eddie," Emmett said while smirking. God damnit, he knew I hated that nickname. Well, lucky for me, I new _his_ least favorite nickname.

"Morning Emmie," I replied as I smirked back at him. "How did you sleep?"

"A hell of a lot better than you," he said. "You wouldn't shut the fuck up. Who _was_ that chick that you were dreaming about?"

"Emmett!" Mom yelled at him. "I will _not_ have you cursing in my house!"

"Sorry, Mom," he said as he gave her a puppy dog face. I kicked him under the table.

"So, Mom," I started. "Are you excited for the first day of school?"

"Oh yes," she replied. "There is some amazing talent this year. There are these two girls, I forget their names, but they are amazing. They were quite the lookers, too. There was a beautiful, statuesque blonde and a beautiful brunette. I could see you and Emmett with them. If only you would start dating again, Edward. You're going to have to get over Tanya eventually." God, why did she have to bring up Tanya?

Tanya was my girlfriend all through college and I was madly in love with her. She had long, curly strawberry blonde hair and blue-green eyes. She was tall and curvy and beautiful. She was also able to hold an intelligent conversation with me which I liked – I didn't want some dumb blonde bimbo – I wanted a woman with brains and beauty. Before graduation I asked her to marry me and she said no. Her reasoning was that she didn't want to settle down yet. I tried really hard to make her see that I was serious about her, but our relationship was crumbling. After graduation, she came up to me and she told me she wanted to start seeing other people. She felt that I was holding her back and she wanted to see what else was out there. I was devastated to say the least. I was more or less catatonic for awhile after that. That's when I started helping my mom on her television show. I found that if I focused on something else then I could keep her off of my mind. It would be awhile before I could trust someone as deeply as I trusted her.

"Mom, could we please not talk about this right now?" I pleaded with her. I was already in a bad mood from my interrupted dream and this certainly wasn't helping.

"Okay," she said sympathetically. "I just want you to be happy, son. I hate seeing you like this and I know that if you found the right girl-"

"Mom," I interrupted her. "We are ending this conversation right now." I got up and put my dishes in the sink. "Emmett, can I ride with you?" I knew I was being an ass to her, but she needed to know when to leave me alone.

"Sure, man. Let me put my dishes in the sink and get my keys and we can go," he said as he got up and put his dishes with mine. "My keys are by the door, so let's go. Bye, Mom – we'll see you at school."

He started making his way towards his Jeep Wrangler. It had the largest tires I'd ever seen and its body was red. It was such an _Emmett _car.

"Hey, Em?" I asked. "Can we drive my car today? Your car probably won't fit in the parking spaces."

"Good point, lil' bro," he answered. "Sure, we can take your little wimpy car."

My car was not "wimpy". It was a Volvo S60R and it was silver. It went fast, which I liked – I was a very fast driver.

We drove to the school almost silently. The only time one of us spoke was to ask the other if they could change the song on the radio.

When we arrived to the school Emmett stopped me. "Look, I think you should talk to Mom. She really didn't mean to hurt you this morning. Give her the chance to apologize."

I sighed and told him, "I'll try."

We stood and waited for Esme and Alice to arrive. They showed up about two minutes after we did. Alice jumped out of the drivers' seat and Esme walked out of the passenger's side. I took a deep breath and walked over to Esme. She immediately launched into an apology.

"I'm really sorry, Edward," she said as she started walking. I followed her and allowed her to keep talking. "I really didn't mean to upset you this morning. I will try to lay off of the subject as much as I can. I just really want you to be happy and I think the right kind of girl would really help you achieve that."

"I understand, Mom," I told her as we walked inside. I lowered my voice and continued so no one would hear us. "I know you are just trying to help. I'm sorry for overreacting at home. It just hurts to think about her and what she did to me."

"I'm really sorry, baby," she said. "I have to start class now but we can talk more later if you want." She cleared her throat and addressed the students.

"Hello everyone," she said kindly to them. "As you all know, I'm Esme Cullen. I am so pleased to see you all here before me. I was thinking before we start, we should introduce ourselves and say one random fact about you. Would you like to start, Alice?"

"Sure, Mom," she replied. "My name is Alice Cullen and I love everything fashion." She looked pointedly at me to talk.

"My name is Edward Cullen," I said. "I enjoy playing the piano." Music was my other passion. I could express myself so thoroughly through music and I loved that. I would sometimes compose at home, but I hadn't done it as much since Tanya left me. It reminded me of her.

Emmett introduced himself and he looked over at a table with two girls. He raised his eyebrows at the blonde girl, but I was too busy being transfixed by the stunning brunette girl next to her. Her friend was beautiful but she was stunning. She had a heart shaped face and pale, smooth skin. She had depthless brown eyes and mahogany hair. Her lips were full and pouty and I just wanted to kiss them senseless.

I wanted the blonde girl to hurry up because I wanted to hear the brunette speak. She introduced herself as Rosalie and said that she liked tinkering around with cars. Emmett would love her. I could practically hear him formulating a plan to get her in his bed by the end of the week.

"My name is Bella Swan," she said a little shakily. Ah, she must not like attention. She cleared her throat delicately and continued. "I enjoy reading the classics." She blushed ever so slightly as she looked over to the next person.

I stopped paying attention to the other people. I couldn't stop staring at Bella. Bella meant beautiful in Latin. Beautiful Swan – _my_ beautiful swan. Wait, _my_ beautiful swan? What am I talking about? I don't even know this girl. She does look oddly familiar though. Where have I seen this girl before?

Before I could think about it some more, my mom started talking again. "Wonderful," she said. "I am very pleased to meet you all. I want to spend today getting to know everyone. My children and I are going to wander around the tables to get to know you all better." I couldn't help but be very thankful to my mother right now. I wanted to talk to Bella some more. I hurried over to their table so I could get to her faster.

"Hi," I said, trying to be polite. "How are you doing?" I realized I was only talking to her, but I didn't care. I wanted her to talk to me.

"We're good," Rosalie told me when Bella wouldn't talk. Why wouldn't she talk to me? Oh, right – she didn't like attention. "We're both just nervous to be here. Bella over here has idolized your mother forever it seems."

"Is that so?" I asked her. Please, please talk to me. "What is your favorite recipe that she's done?"

"I loved her antipasto skewers," she answered. God, her voice was amazing. I could only imagine how it would sound screaming out my name as I…whoa calm down, Edward. Now would not be a good time to have an erection. "I also loved her mushroom ravioli. Both were delicious. But not at the same time, obviously – that would be weird." She had a sense of humor and I liked that.

I smiled at her as I responded. "Those are some of my favorite recipes as well. It appears that we have similar tastes." Where did that come from? God, she probably thinks that I'm an idiot.

She smiled seductively at me as she said, "It appears we do." Oh, God. I know where I saw her before! Damn, damn, damn! She was the girl from my dream. What do I do? I need to get out of here – fast!

"Um, I think I'm going to go talk to some of the other people now, but it was nice meeting you, Bella." I liked the way her name sounded coming from my lips. "You too, Rosalie," I added as I realized that I had once again neglected her. I headed over to the table next to theirs and I saw Alice make her way over to them. Damn, I should've warned them that she was a big bundle of energy. I hope that she doesn't scare them off.

I found out that the guys names were Jasper and Jacob. The seemed pretty cool – I could see myself hanging out with them. I said goodbye to them and moved to the table behind Jasper's and Jacob's. It had two girls there and they seemed like bimbos. They were excessively flirting with me and it was really over-the-top. I discovered that their names were Jessica and Lauren. I would try to stay as far away from them as I could. I left them and went to the table next to them. They were okay to talk to at first. I found out that their names were Mike and Eric. Then, all of the sudden, Mike told me that he was going to "tap that" as he pointed to Bella. I got really pissed off at him. How dare he be so degrading towards my Bella? I said goodbye angrily and made my way to the front of the classroom where Emmett was already standing.

"Hey, dude," he said to me. "You know Rosalie? The blonde bombshell over there? I just asked her out on a date, but I don't know what to do. I'm horrible with the whole dating thing and I want to do this the right way. What should I do?"

"Well," I told him. "You could make it a double date and I could help you out. You could invite her brunette friend, too. I bet she'd like that." I didn't mention how much _I_ would like that. Less was always more with Emmett.

"You know what?" he asked. "That's not a bad idea. Thanks, man. I'll go tell them when we get out of here."

"Okay," I replied. "Let me know when you find out."

Mom made her way to the front of the class and announced that class was dismissed. I gave Emmett a pat on the back and pushed him towards the girls. I really wanted her to say yes to him. I was getting really excited just thinking about going on a date with her. I saw him kiss her hand and I couldn't help but be jealous. _I_ wanted to be the only one kissing her. I needed to calm down; Emmett was coming back with a grin on his face.

"She said yes, dude," he told me. I wasn't even trying to hide the excitement on my face. "She looked excited too. I think she likes you."

We walked out of class with shit eating grins on our faces.


	4. Preparing for Dinner EPOV

**A/N Thank you to those who have put this story on story alert and favorite story. Also, very special thanks to Blayke ****for reviewing. I really do appreciate it. This chapter is dedicated to you! I hope you enjoy! :D**

**Please, please, please review! I would love to know what you think. It makes me smile and motivates me to update faster…:P**

**Disclaimer: I still don't own Twilight or any of its characters.**

EPOV

We got into the car and headed home. I wanted to call her immediately. I wanted to hear her voice again. But, unfortunately for me, I didn't have her number. I should have asked her at school, but I cowardly walked away when I "recognized" her. _I am such an idiot_.

"Would I be too much of a pussy if I called her right now?" Emmett asked me.

"I think you should let her get home first," I told him. "I think you should call her after we have some lunch."

"That sounds like a good plan," he said. "I just really, really like this girl. I mean, she's more than just a pretty face and a beautiful body. She's got brains and wit and humor. I feel like I'm falling for her and I've only known her for a few hours!"

"I know how you feel," I admitted to him.

"Why didn't you ask her for her number then?" he asked.

"I don't know," I said reluctantly. "It's like, when I'm around her, my brain turns to goop and I can't remember what I was going to do or say. It also really doesn't help that she was the girl I was dreaming about this morning."

"Dude, are you serious?!" he exclaimed. "That really sucks, bro. Well, maybe once you get to know her better, you will be able to talk to her easier."

"I hope you are right," I said. "I really, really like her."

We finished the car ride home silently lost in our thoughts. I wanted to sweep Bella off of her feet. I wanted to see her smile at me. I wanted to stare into her depthless eyes forever. Wow, I sound like a total sap.

We went inside where we were practically tackled by our sister.

"Oh my goodness," she almost yelled. "I am so happy right now. I am going to go out on a date with Jasper tomorrow. He wants to cook for me and it's so sweet. He's just so sweet and caring. I really, really like him."  
"I'm happy for you, Al," Emmett said. "Wait a second!" He looked over at me excitedly. For a second, he looked like a seven-year-old in a candy store where he is told he can buy whatever he wants. "Why don't we invite Rose and Bella over here? We can cook them something. That would be romantic, right?"

"Em, that is a great idea!" I told him. I really did like the idea. "Bella was telling me that she loved mom's mushroom ravioli so why don't we make that?"

"Sure thing, Ed," he said. "Hey Al, you should invite this Jasper guy, too. I want to meet him and see if he's good enough for my little sister."

"Yes!" she exclaimed. "That's a great idea! I'm going to call Jazz and see if he wants to come over tonight for dinner! Wait, is tonight okay?"

"Well, I have to call Rose and she will have to tell Bella," Emmett told her. "But I think we can make tonight work."

She squealed and pecked him on the cheek. "Thank you so much! Oh, God, I have to start getting ready!" She ran upstairs while dialing her phone.

"Does she not realize that dinner is like 6 hours away?" Emmett asked me incredulously. "It seems stupid to get ready now."

"You know Alice," I told him. "Alice will always be Alice and it's no use trying to understand her."  
"Good point," he said. "Do you think it's okay to call her now?" I told him that it was probably okay to call.

He dialed the number and looked really nervous. I mouthed, "calm down" to him and he took a few deep breaths. The phone was loud enough that I could hear both sides of the conversation.

"_Hello?"_

"Hey, it's me, Emmett. How are you?"

"_I'm good. I just got home. I was planning on making Bella and me some lunch,"_

"Oh, Bella is there with you? Why didn't she go home?"

"_She is home - she's my roommate. I'm surprised that we didn't_ _tell you that. I feel like such an idiot."_

"No, it's cool. I was just surprised. Well, this saves us an extra phone call."

"_What are you talking about?"_

"Well, Edward, Alice, and I were wondering if you and Bella wanted to come to our place for dinner? We were planning on making mushroom ravioli."

"_Edward has a good memory. Well, I'm all for it. Let me ask Bella." _There was a pause where I assume she asked Bella if she wanted to come over. _"She says that she can't wait and her stomach thanks you. She's a little strange – ow that hurt! I'm sorry, Bella!"_

I couldn't help but laugh. They must be closer than I thought – not that I had thought about it very much. I was too transfixed by Bella.

"So we'll see you here around 7?"

"_Sure, we'll see you then. Could you text me the directions, though? I don't want to get lost…"_

"Of course I will. Well, I'll let you get to cookin' good lookin' so I'll talk to you later, okay?"

She laughed and said, _"Sure thing – I will talk to you later!"_ and disconnected the line.

"Okay," Emmett said to me. "We need to find Mom's recipe for mushroom ravioli. We haven't made it in awhile, so I don't remember how to make it…"

"It's okay," I assured him. "I'll go find Mom – she's probably in the library – and I will see if she can help us out."

I left Emmett and headed upstairs towards my father, Carlisle's library. He had hundreds of books lined up on shelves and a one-armed red couch on an oriental rug. There was a desk with a lamp on it that was almost always covered with opened books. I walked inside and, sure enough, she was sitting on the couch with a book in her hand.

"Mom?" I asked. I felt bad for interrupting her – she always looked so peaceful while reading.

She put a bookmark in her book and looked up at me and said, "Edward, darling. What do you need?"  
"I'm really sorry to bother you while you are reading, but could you help us find the recipe for mushroom ravioli? Neither of us has made it in a while and we don't remember how to make it."

"I believe I can help you with that," she told me with a smile. "Why, might I ask, do you need this recipe?" She looked at me knowingly, but it seemed that she wanted _me_ to say it.

"Well, we invited Bella, Jasper, and Rosalie from school over to dinner tonight," I told her sheepishly and I ran my fingers through my hair. I couldn't help the slight smile as I said Bella's name and it didn't go unnoticed by my mother.

"I'm glad – it's a wonderful idea," she said, smiling. "I think that the recipe is over on the desk because I was looking through some old recipes." She got up and walked over to the desk. She flipped through some of the books until she found it. "Aha! Here it is! You will probably have to double the ingredients to be able to feed you all. I would recommend making some breadsticks as well – they taste really good and don't take very long to make."

She handed me the book and I said, "Thank you, Mom. I'll let you get back to your reading, now."

"Okay, Edward," she said as she re-opened her book.

I left her and headed back downstairs to find Emmett. He was in the living room watching some sports show.

"Hey Em," I said. "I got the recipe. Mom said that we should also make breadsticks because they go with the mushroom ravioli very nicely. They also take about ten minutes to make so that'll be good."

"That's great," he said. "Let's get started now so we can relax before they get here."

We went into the kitchen and got out the necessary ingredients to get started. We made the mushroom ravioli first because it would take longer. Once we had finished that, we put the breadsticks in. We set the table for the six of us and we were done.

"Okay," Emmett said. "I think we should go upstairs to Alice so she can give us our outfits because you _know_ she picked out something."  
"You're probably right," I agreed. "Let's go. Plus, I want to hear more about this 'Jazz' character."

"Oh, I'm glad you reminded me!" he exclaimed. "We have to give her the third degree about it."

We went upstairs and walked to Alice's room and knocked on the door. She opened the door and told us to come in.

Her room was the girliest room I had ever seen. There was a large bed with pink pillows and blankets in the middle of her room. She had a large white desk with a computer and tons of designs for different outfits. She had the largest closet out of all of us and it was packed full of clothes. Her closet changed very frequently because she usually only wore something once before giving them away. She also had her own bathroom with a shower and a huge countertop that was currently covered with make-up and brushes and curling irons and hair straighteners.

"I have your outfits laid out for you in your bedrooms," she told us. "I think you are going to like them."

"That's great," I said. "That's not exactly the reason why we came up here but thanks for letting us know." I looked over at Emmett and smiled. He smiled back at me impishly before turning to our sister.

"Okay, so what's the deal with this Jasper dude?" he asked her.

"Jasper is amazing!" she said. "You'll love him, I promise. He is calm and caring and wonderful. You aren't going to torture him, are you?"

Emmett and I smirked at each other. "Well," I started. "We won't harass him _too _much. But you are our little sister, so we have to protect you. We don't want you getting hurt – we love you too much."  
"Aw, you guys!" she said before hugging us both. I massaged my ribs when she let go; that girl was _strong_! "Thank you! I love you both, too. Now shoo so I can finish getting ready. They are going to be here soon!"

"Oh, that's right!" Emmett exclaimed. "I have to text Rose the directions!" He took out his phone and asked her what her address was. When she responded, he asked Alice if he could use her computer.

"Sure," she said. "No looking at porn on my computer!" She laughed as she walked back into her bathroom. I rolled my eyes.

Emmett looked up the directions and texted them to Rose. She wrote him back saying that they would be here in a half an hour.

"Okay," he said. "Let's get ready now."

We headed into our respective rooms. I saw a pair of dark blue jeans and a black v-neck t-shirt. I put it on and walked over to my bathroom and saw that it didn't look bad. I ran my fingers through my hair and made my way downstairs. As I got downstairs, I heard the doorbell ring. They were here.


	5. Table for Six

**A/N Thank you those who put this story on story alert and favorite story. A very special thanks to Blayke and lilquakers77 for reviewing. It really means a lot to me that you like my story. This chapter is for you guys! I hope you like it! **

**Just so you guys know, reviews motivate me to update faster. I would also appreciate your ideas for the story. For example, let me know if you want me to do this chapter in EPOV. To reward you for giving me your ideas, I will send you part of the next chapter. Sounds like a good exchange, right? :D**

**Disclaimer: I once again do not own Twilight or any of its characters.**

BPOV

We headed home, still lost in our thoughts. I couldn't believe that I was going on a date with _Edward Cullen_! When did I get so lucky? Seriously, I must be dreaming…

We got home and threw ourselves on the two couches in our living room. I turned on the television and flipped through the channels. I turned on a marathon of "America's Next Top Model." It was our guilty pleasure show.

"Hey Rose?" I asked. I pretended to be serious. "I have something to ask you."  
"Okay," she said. "What's up?"

I lowered my voice like Tyra Banks as I asked, "Do you wanna be on top?" (**A/N For those who don't know, the theme song to "America's Next Top Model" has Tyra Banks repeatedly say "Do you wanna be on top?" I couldn't resist putting that in here!**)

We both started cracking up hysterically. We continued watching the show for a couple episodes. We stopped when Rosalie's phone started ringing.

"Oh, God! It's Emmett!" she yelled. "What do I do?!"

"Well," I told her, "answering the phone usually helps."

"Oh, right," she said. She opened the phone and said, "Hello?"

I couldn't understand what Emmett was saying, but his voice sounded friendly.

"I'm good. I just got home. I was planning on making Bella and me some lunch." My stomach growled at her words and she smiled at me.

"She _is_ home – she's my roommate. I'm surprised that we didn't tell you that. I feel like such an idiot," she said while lightly smacking herself in the head.

He sounded surprised at her words. I would have to have her explain to me when they got off the phone.

"What are you talking about?" she asked him curiously.

He answered her and a sly smile came across her face. "Edward has a good memory," she told him. Wait, Edward has a good memory? What is she talking about? "Well, I'm all for it. Let me ask Bella."

She covered the phone with her hand and said, "They want to know if you would be okay with going over there for dinner tonight. They're making mushroom ravioli."

So that's what she meant when she said that Edward had a good memory – he remembered that I told him that I liked that recipe. That was really sweet that he remembered.

"That sounds good," I told her. "My stomach thanks them," I added jokingly. She smiled to me and uncovered the phone.

"She says that she can't wait and her stomach thanks you. She's a little strange." I lunged over and hit her arm. "Ow that hurt! I'm sorry, Bella!"

I heard a soft, melodic chuckle in the background and I knew immediately who it was. God, he _really _must think that I'm an idiot now. He heard that whole thing!

"Sure, we'll see you then," she told him. "Could you text me the directions, though? I don't want to get lost…"

She laughed at whatever he said and said, "Sure thing – I will talk to you later!" She closed her phone and looked at me.

"I'm sorry," she said. She didn't need to apologize though – she was already forgiven. Holding grudges wasn't one of my many talents. "They want us to come over around 7 so that gives us a half an hour to eat and three hours to get ready."

"I'm sorry, I must have misheard you. Did you say _three hours _to get ready?" I asked her incredulously.

"You heard me correctly," she told me. "We have to look good tonight and that takes time. I'm going to make us some sandwiches for lunch."

She left to go to the kitchen. She returned ten minutes later with two turkey club sandwiches. They looked delicious and I couldn't wait to eat it; I was starving. We ate our sandwiches quietly and we finished around the same time. I got up and took her plate into the kitchen to rinse it off. I did the same with my plate and returned to the living room.

"Okay," she said. "Go upstairs and take a shower. When you're done, come into my room."

We went upstairs to our respective rooms. I got in the shower and turned on the hot water. It helped relieve the tension that was building in my lower back as I got more and more nervous. I washed my hair with my favorite strawberry scented shampoo and washed my body with freesia scented body wash. I got out and put a towel around my head and put on a robe and headed towards Rosalie's room.

She was waiting for me impatiently on her bed. "Come on," she said. "We only have two-and-a-half hours to get ready!"

She got a blow drier and started drying my hair. I knew better than to complain; there was no stopping Rosalie when she wanted to play Bella Barbie.

Once my hair was dry she told me to put on the dress, undergarments, and shoes that were sitting on her dresser while she blow dried her hair. The dress was black with little clusters of white stars. (**A/N Link to dress on my profile**.) It was a little more skin than I was used to showing, but it was worth it for Edward. I put on the clothes and the heels. They were surprisingly comfortable. I walked back over to Rosalie who had just finished blow drying her hair.

She sat me down and started curling my hair. She was giving me soft waves that flowed around my face. When she finished she told me to put on the lilac eye shadow, mascara, and pink lip gloss while she put her outfit on. Her dress was black and very tight with three circular cut outs on the side. (**A/N Link to dress on my profile**.)

She walked back and started straightening her hair and parting it to the side. As she was finishing her hair, her phone went off. It was Emmett; he had texted her the directions. She told him that we would be there in a half an hour before putting on make up.

"Okay," she said. "Let's go."

We left the apartment and got into her car. She had me read off the directions while she drove. We headed up a long, curvy driveway and we were greeted by the most beautiful house.

It was a three story house and was built in a hill. The top and bottom layers of the house were charcoal and the middle layer was wooden with a balcony on the right side. There were large windows on each layer of the house and had two sets of steps leading to the house.

We got out of the car and walked over to the door. Rosalie rang the doorbell and we waited anxiously for someone to answer the door.

The door opened and we were greeted by Edward. He looked incredible in dark blue jeans and a v-neck t-shirt. They were both very form fitting and I could see his defined muscles. I wanted to jump his bones right there, but I remembered that we weren't even inside his house yet.

"Come on in," he said hospitably. "You look incredible, Bella. You too, Rosalie." "Thank you," we said in unison as we walked inside. The inside was just as incredible as the outside.

The foyer had travertine tile on the floor and there was a beautiful painting with large orange, green, and blue rectangles and similar to linking chains on the orange part. As we walked through the house, I noticed that the floor became hardwood. We walked into the living room and I was surprised to find that one wall was nothing but windows. There was a large, white sectional and had a glass table in the middle of the room. There were two large brown chairs and they were on top of a large, oriental rug. The walls were white but had paintings on the walls with earthy colors. I was stunned into silence.

He smiled crookedly at our awestruck expressions. "I'm glad you like the place," he said with a chuckle. "Come on – let me show you guys the rest of the house."

We followed him around the house. The kitchen was the most amazing thing that I had ever seen. One wall was all glass and there was a long granite island in the middle. All of the appliances were black and contrasted beautifully to the oak cabinets.

He took us upstairs and showed us the bedrooms and the library. The library was very impressive. It had more books in it than the public library had. I wanted to spend some time in there, but Edward was already heading back downstairs.

He took us back downstairs and we were greeted by Alice, Emmett, and Jasper. Jasper must have gotten here while we were getting the tour of the house.

"Well, since we're all here now," Alice started. "Why don't we eat our dinner?"

"Sounds good to me!" I exclaimed. She smiled at me and told us to follow her to the dining room. It had a large black table that was already set with white plates and glass cups. The chairs looked comfortable and were white with black trim.

When we got to the table, Edward pulled out my chair for me. I blushed and smiled at him and sat down. I saw Emmett do the same for Rosalie and Jasper do the same for Alice. I felt so pampered. Edward and Emmett grabbed our plates and went into the kitchen to get the food. While they were gone, Alice started a conversation with Jasper, Rosalie, and me.

"I'm so glad you could come," she said enthusiastically. "It really means a lot to the three of us that you came."

"It is our pleasure. You have a beautiful home," Jasper told her while we nodded our heads.

"Thank you," she told him. "I hope you like mushroom ravioli because that's what we made. Well, Edward and Emmett made it actually. They really like you two, you know," she told us.

"Yeah, right," I said while looking down at the table. "I understand that Emmett likes Rose – how could you not? But me? There's no way that Edward likes me."

"I don't think you realize how special you really are," she told me. "You are slowly bringing back the old Edward. He just hasn't been the same since Tanya."  
Before she could elaborate, the boys came back with our food. They put our plates in front of us and sat down.

"Do you guys say grace before you eat?" Rosalie asked tentatively.

Alice, Edward, and Emmett smirked at each other and said, "Grace!"

We all laughed and started eating. I took one bite of the mushroom ravioli and I couldn't help the small moan I made because it was delicious. Edward squirmed a little in his seat; he must be nervous. Conversations had started around us as we ate and I decided to start up a conversation with Edward.

"So Edward," I said to him, hoping to ease his nerves. "You said that you enjoy playing the piano. Do you compose your own music? Or do you play other people's music?"

He looked at me square in the eye and I temporarily stopped breathing. His eyes were so _intense_. "I haven't composed anything for some time. I would really like to start back up again, though. I usually play some Mozart, Debussy, Beethoven, and Chopin. Debussy is my personal favorite."

I felt very glad that my mother, Renée, would play classical music around the house. "I love Clair de Lune. I love how it starts off delicately and builds up dramatically and then goes back to being delicate until the piece ends. It is truly a beautiful song."

He looked awestruck as he stared into my eyes. "I would love to play it for you sometime," he told me.

I smiled at him and told him honestly, "I would really like that."

We looked into each other's eyes for an immeasurable amount of time. I blushed and broke the eye contact. His gaze seemed to turn my bones spongy and I couldn't think coherently around him. I started eating my food again and he did the same.

When we were all done, Alice asked us if we wanted to go to the living room. We all agreed and followed her. She and Jasper sat on the chairs and Edward, Emmett, Rosalie, and I sat on the sectional. It was large enough that we were able to sit comfortably.

"So Bella," Edward started. I liked the way my name sounded coming from his lips. "You said that you liked reading the classics. What are some of your favorites?"

His genuine curiosity disarmed me and I ended up blurting out my answer. "Well, I love _Wuthering Heights_ the most – I read it over and over. I also like _Pride & Prejudice,_ _Crime & Punishment _and_ Jane Eyre_."

"Those are all good books," he said. "What draws you to Wuthering Heights so much?"

His eyes grew even more intense – if that's even possible – and I could tell that he was vividly interested. "I think there's something about the inevitability," I told him honestly. "That neither Catherine's selfishness nor Heathcliff's evil nor can death, in the end, keep them apart."

He processed my reasoning before responding. "You have a fair point, but I think that the story would be better if either one of them hade _one _redeeming quality."

"I think that's the point, though," I disagreed. "Their love for each other _is_ their only redeeming quality."

We continued talking about music and books and throwing in little facts about ourselves. Before I knew it, it was midnight.

"I had a really good time tonight," I told him honestly.

"I did too," he told me while smiling crookedly. "We should do this again sometime soon."

"Just the two of us, or the six of us again?" I asked him.

"I think I would like to spend some one-on-one time with you, if you don't mind," he said.

"Like a date?" I asked him hopefully. I noticed that his eyes lit up slightly at my words and my heart fluttered a little.

"If you would like that," he said with his glorious crooked smile.

"I would really like that," I told him. "Would you like my number so we can schedule our date?"

"That would be great," he answered gratefully.

I gave him my number and he walked me to the foyer. He looked me in my eyes and said, "I'm really glad you came, Bella. Be safe." He kissed me on my forehead and walked away before I could say anything.

Rosalie came up to me and asked if I was ready to go. I told her I was and we headed to her car.

"I had such a great time," Rosalie gushed. "He is so sweet and I really like him, Bella. I'm kind of scared though; I don't want to get hurt like I did with Royce…"

"Rose," I told her sternly. "I've seen the way that boy looks at you. You have nothing to worry about. I think that he's perfect for you."

"Thank you," she said while smiling at me. "It really means a lot to hear you say that. I really like Edward, too. You will probably need to take things slow with him; Emmett told me all about Tanya and I know that he needs time to heal."

I felt a little mad that he didn't tell me himself, but I realized that he really _did _need time to heal before he could talk to me about it. He needed to heal before he could feel comfortable with talking about it. I'm sure it was painful for him to think about and I yearned to make him forget about her. I pledged then and there that I would do everything in my power to help him get over her.

We got home and said a quick goodnight before heading to our rooms. I stayed up and stared at my ceiling while going over the dinner in my head. Life was very good for me right now.


	6. Girl Power Day of Relaxation

**A/N Once again, I would like to thank all of you who like my story – especially Blayke (sorry that I don't use your penname – my computer is a piece of crap and won't let me) lilquakers77. A special thanks to lilquackers77 for inadvertently giving me an idea for a future chapter. **

**As usual, reviews make me smile and my proposition is still in effect. Ideas = a preview to the next chapter.**

**Disclaimer: Twilight is under the ownership of Stephenie Meyer. The last time I checked, I was not her, so that means that Twilight isn't mine…damn…**

BPOV

I woke up early which was weird for me; I was not a morning person my any stretch of the imagination. I looked at the clock and saw that it was seven. _Well, since I'm up, I might as well make some breakfast._

I got out of bed and realized that I had fallen asleep in my dress. I quickly took it off and searched for some pajamas. I threw on an oversized t-shirt and some shorts and made my way to the kitchen.

"What should I make?" I asked myself aloud. I decided that breakfast burritos sounded good so I grabbed the necessary ingredients and got to work.

I scrambled some eggs and heated some sausage in the microwave. Then, I cut up some avocado and opened the sour cream and salsa. Next, I got out two plates and put a tortilla on each plate. Finally, I put a good amount of eggs and cheese on the tortilla, garnished it with the avocado, sour cream, and salsa, and rolled it into a burrito.

After finishing with the breakfast burritos, I brewed us some coffee to wake us up. We both liked our coffee dark with half and half and a teaspoon of sugar. I got two coffee cups while the coffee was brewing and filled them with coffee after it was done.

I decided to go to Rosalie's room and wake her up. She was lying sideways on her bed with her dress still on and her hair in complete disarray. I smiled at the usually composed Rosalie before making my way to her bed.

"Rosalie?" I asked tentatively. "Do you want to wake up, please?"

She groaned at me and said, "Go away."  
"Please, Rose?" I asked while rubbing her arm. "I made breakfast burritos…"

"Okay, fine," she conceded. She lifted herself into a sitting position and stretched widely. She looked down and realized what she had fallen asleep in.  
"Oh, my God," she said. "I can't believe that I fell asleep in my dress. Who does that?"

I gasped in mock offense and said, "I'll have you know that I did the same thing, thank you very much."

She laughed at me and said, "Thinking about your lover boy, Edward last night, Bells?"

I laughed and playfully smacked her arm and said, "Don't act for one second like you didn't stay up thinking about Emmett."

"Yep," she said simply. "Now, let's go eat. I need some coffee in my system or else I'm going to pass out." She let out a huge yawn and got out of bed.

We went down into the kitchen and retrieved our plates and coffees and sat down at the table. I took a bite of the burrito and was proud of myself; it was one damn good burrito!

"So, Emmett asked me out on another date," Rosalie told me. "We were texting back and forth a lot last night."

"Oh really? Where are you planning on going out?" I inquired. I realized that Edward never told me where he wanted to take me. I guessed that he was going to tell me when he called me. I wondered when he was going to call.

I realized that I had missed her entire answer and I asked her to repeat herself. She shot me a reproachful look and said, "He was planning on taking me wine tasting. Isn't that really cool?" Her eyes twinkled as she waited for my response.

"That's really cool," I told her. "Edward told me he wanted to spend some one-on-one time with me, but he didn't specify more than that. He just told me that he would call me…"

Rosalie seemed to notice the hint of sadness in my voice and rubbed my arm consolingly. "Don't worry, Bells," she said. "He'll call you and you will have a great time doing whatever he has planned."

"I know that I'm being silly," I told her while looking at the table. "I'm just afraid that he won't call. That he will come to his senses and realize that I'm not what he's looking for."

"Look at me, Bella," she said as she waited for me to look at her. My brown eyes locked with her blue ones. "He likes you, whether you want to believe it or not. He _will _call you and you _will_ get over your insecurity. You are a caring, intelligent, beautiful person who just needs a boost in her self-esteem. I'll tell you what; why don't I call up Alice and the three of us go to the spa and have a 'girl power' day of relaxation?"

Normally, I was never one for wanting to do girly things like going to the spa, but I realized that some relaxation would be good for me. "Okay," I told her. "That would be great. And thank you, Rosalie. You really know how to make a girl feel better."

"Hey, it's what I'm here for," she said with a smile. I smiled back at her and we continued eating our food and sipping our coffee until we finished. I grabbed our plates and cups and rinsed them out and put them in the dishwasher.

"Okay," Rosalie said authoritatively. "You are going to get your cute little ass in the shower while I call Alice and the spa to schedule our appointments – capice?"

"Capice," I told her with a smile.

I headed upstairs and went into the bathroom. I quickly shed my clothes and got in the shower. I let the heat relieve the tension in my body and started washing myself. I decided to shave my body from the neck down because I didn't want to get out of the shower just yet. I was beginning to feel a bit apprehensive about what I had agreed to. Rosalie was not known for doing things small and I had a feeling that neither was Alice. I decided to suck it up because I deserved some "me time."

I got out of the shower and put a towel around my body and another towel around my head like a turban. _Attractive_, I thought sarcastically as I made my way back to my room. There was already an outfit waiting for me on my bed. There was a short black vest and a longer white t-shirt underneath it, dark blue skinny jeans, black ballet flats, and the necessary undergarments. I took the towels off and threw them on my floor and put the outfit on. I really liked it – it was very flattering on me. I went back into the bathroom to brush my hair and teeth. After deciding to let my hair air dry, I ran downstairs to find Rosalie in the living room.

"Bella, you look great!" she exclaimed as she took in my appearance. "Turn around; let me see the back!" I turned around and she said, "You have an ass!" I smiled and blushed at the brass of her words. She was never one to hold back.

"Thank you," I said. "Are you going to get ready now?"

"Yes," she replied. "The appointments are set and Alice will be here at ten o'clock."

She departed and I pulled out my cell phone. There weren't and missed calls and I was slightly discouraged. Then I remembered that it was only 8:30 in the morning; he might not even be awake yet.

I got up and went upstairs to get my iPod. After grabbing it I went back downstairs. I plopped on my couch and put my headphones. I scrolled through the songs until I found Clair de Lune. I couldn't help the smile that crossed my face as I clicked that song – it was something that we both liked. I let my mind wander as the song played.

Talking with Edward was very _easy_ – like talking to Rosalie. He was attentive and seemed genuinely interested in what I had to say. The way he looked at me was so intense – like he was trying to see through to my soul. I didn't know much about him, but I thought that he had a beautiful soul.

He was very old fashioned in some of the things that he did and I found that I liked it. I wasn't used to being treated like he did. He pulled my chair out for me and walked me to the door. That got me thinking about his kiss.

I could tell that his lips were very soft when he kissed my forehead. I thought that the gesture was sweet. I was a little disappointed that he didn't kiss me on the lips, but I realized that he was still heartbroken over Tanya, and any kiss at all was probably a big step for him. I hated that she hurt him so badly. I wanted to kick her ass until she was unrecognizable so she could feel the pain that he suffered because of her. The idea of Tanya angered me, so I thought of something else. I tried thinking of what we were going to do at the spa.

I had only ever gone to the spa twice in my life - once for junior prom and once for senior prom. All I had done for both of them were getting eyebrows, hair, and make up done. I knew there were lots of things to do at the spa. We could get our nails done. I would be okay with that if I was able to choose the color. Knowing Rosalie, she would probably give me a horrible pink color. I shuddered just thinking about it. We could get massages. That would be cool; I had never gotten a massage before. Before I could think of more things there was a knock on the door. I got up and opened the door and was attacked by a huge hug. Once I was let go I saw the bright and excited face of Alice Cullen. I shook my head at her and let her inside.

"I am so excited," Alice gushed. "I love going to the spa and the fact that you want to go too is awesome. No offense, but I didn't peg you as the spa-going type."  
"None taken," I laughed. "I'm not usually into this kind of stuff, but Rose thought that I needed a self-esteem booster and that the spa would be the perfect way to do that."

"Well she was right – the spa is _perfect_ for a self-esteem booster," she told me. "I guarantee that you will feel like a goddess by the end of today."

We started some small talk while we waited for Rosalie to finish getting ready. We talked about our dinner date and our plans for future dates with our men. I laughed at some of the things she told me about Jasper. Judging by what I had seen and heard of him, he seemed like the exact opposite of Alice and therefore perfect for her. Where Alice was hyper, Jasper was calm. Where Alice was extroverted, Jasper was introverted. I was happy for her.

Rosalie came down a little while later wearing a pink t-shirt, skinny jeans, and black ballet flats.

"Are you ready to go?" she asked us.

"Yes," we chorused.

We walked outside and I saw Alice's car for the first time. I was stunned into speechlessness as I stared at it. It was a yellow Porsche 911 Turbo and it looked very fast and very expensive.

Alice laughed at my expression and said, "Do you like? It was a graduation present from my parents."

"Yeah, wow," I managed to get out as I shook my head. "It's incredible, Alice."

She smiled as she walked over to it. She beckoned us over to it and told us to get in. The interior of her car was grey and there were five speedometers and a GPS device. We got in and she turned on the radio and Boom Boom Pow was playing.

"Oh my god!" Alice screamed as she turned it up. "I _love _this song!"

We all started dancing and singing along. I took Fergie's part, Alice took Will.'s part, and Rosalie took Taboo's part. We all rapped .ap.'s part.

When we finished the song Alice looked at me in the mirror and said, "I didn't know that you could sing; you're really good!"

I blushed at her compliment and said, "I usually don't sing in front of people because I get uncomfortable, but there's something about you Cullens that makes me very comfortable."

"I know what you mean!" Rosalie exclaimed. "It's like I've known you my whole life; I'm as comfortable around you, Alice, as I am around Bella and I've known her forever."

"We do try," Alice said with a laugh. "It's part of the Cullen charm!" She winked at us and we laughed.

We got to Charles Penzone and walked inside. When we got to the front desk, Alice went up to the lady and said, "Reservations under Cullen."

Her eyes lit up as she looked at us. "Right this way," she said as she led us to the massage room. She instructed us to take off our clothes and lay on the provided beds with the sheets covering our butts.

I was a little self conscious as I took off my clothes given the current company I was with, but I sucked it up and did what she told us to do; I was in this to have a good time with my friends.

The therapists came in and explained what they were going to do and went over our medical history and our lifestyle. My girl was beautiful and was really nice. She introduced herself as Carmen and she was Italian with dark skin, hair, and eyes. She was about the same height as me and she was in good shape.

"Relax," she told me when I tensed up as her fingers touched my bare skin. "Just let me work my magic and you will be feeling better in no time."

"Pretend that she's Edward," Rosalie said with a laugh. I wanted to hit her, but I couldn't because she was too far away from me.

Carmen put lotion on my back and started rubbing it in on my back. I felt myself relax as she worked down my back and moved to my legs. When she was done, she asked me to turn over slowly and cover myself up. She then put lotion on my arms, neck and stomach. It felt really good. All too soon, she was done. She told me to get up slowly so that I wouldn't get lightheaded.

"Okay, guys," I said to them. "I feel so good right now that I won't even complain about whatever torture you plan on putting me through."

They looked at each other and squealed as we left the massage room.

"Okay, so the next thing we are going to do is get our nails done!" Rosalie told me.

"That doesn't sound too bad," I said as I shrugged.

"That's the spirit!" Alice said as she smiled.

We made our way over to the nail part. When we got there, they told us to go to the sink and wash our hands. We did that and went back to the counter. The woman who did my nails was named Maggie. She had red, curly hair and green eyes. She was short and petite.

"So for what occasion are you girls here for?" she asked me conversationally.

"We just thought that it would be nice," I lied.

"I know that you're lying," she told me. "You can tell me, you know; I won't judge you."

"You're right," I sighed. "I was feeling kinda low with my self esteem and my girls thought that a day at the spa would help me feel better."  
"Aw, honey," she said consolingly. "What happened to make you feel like that – if you don't mind me asking?"

I knew that she would call me out on lying – she seemed to know when people were lying. I opted to tell her the truth. "I went on a date with a guy that I really like and I was worried that he wouldn't like me because I'm not pretty enough and too crazy for my own good."

"Honey," she told me somewhat sternly. "You are a beautiful girl. If he doesn't see that then he doesn't deserve you."

I was touched by the fact that a complete stranger was saying this to me and I smiled at her and thanked her.

We talked a little more while she painted my nails a ruby red. She said that it was my color. When they dried I hugged her and thanked her.

"Okay, now we are going to get our hair done!" Rosalie exclaimed.

I was really nervous. I had the same haircut for years – long. It went down to my bra strap and I liked it a lot. I was afraid to part with it.

We went up to our people and I found out that the name of my girl was Charlotte. She was very pretty with long blonde hair and large brown eyes. She was about 5'9" and was curvy.

"How do you want your hair to be done?" she asked me nicely.

"I don't know," I told her honestly. "I have had this same hairstyle for a long time and I'm afraid to part with it."

"Well, I can give you some layers and some highlights and lowlights to frame your face better. I would have to trim the split ends, but it wouldn't be much shorter than it is now," she told me.

"I think I would like that," I said with a smile. I liked the fact that she wasn't going to change my hair that much.

She got started on cutting my hair. She cut my hair with a razor to make the layers more defined and the shortest layer went to my collar bone. Then she put red and dark brown highlights and lowlights to give my hair more dimension. I moved over to the chairs that heat your hair. I had always hated those chairs, but Rosalie and Alice were right next to me and kept me entertained.

"I like to eat, eat, eat, apples and bananas!" Alice said. I laughed at her; she was so random sometimes.

Several random, stupid moments later and I was allowed to get up. I walked back over to Charlotte and she took the foil off of my head. I gasped at what I saw.

I loved it – absolutely loved it. The highlights and lowlights really made my features more defined.

"Charlotte, you are amazing!" I told her happily.

"It was no problem," she told me. "You look incredible."

I gave her a hug as I made my way over to the girls.

"The last thing that we are going to do on our 'girl power' day of relaxation is to get our make up done," Alice said happily. I smiled at her gratefully. As much as I enjoyed today, I was exhausted.

We went over to our make up people. The girl who did my make up was named Irina. She was short and skinny with short, ice blonde hair and piercing blue eyes.

"Okay," she told me. "You have gorgeous skin, so we're not going to put foundation on you." I blushed at her compliment. "We also don't seem to have to give you blush, either," she added. "We're just going to do some eye shadow, eyeliner, mascara, and lip gloss on you today."

She put on light purple eye shadow, black eyeliner, black mascara, and a glossy lip gloss. When she showed me what I looked like I almost passed out.

The girl looking back at me was _beautiful_. Her eyes were wide and sparkling. Her cheeks were lightly flushed and her lips looked full and pouty. There was no way that was me; there was just _no way_!

"How do you think you look?" she asked me.

"That's not me," I told her disbelievingly. "I look _great_! Thank you so, so much!"

I gave her a hug and headed towards the girls.

"You look awesome!" they chorused. I blushed again at their enthusiasm.

"Thank you guys," I told them. "I really appreciate you doing this for me. I feel really good about myself right now, and I owe it all to you guys."  
"It was no problem, Bella," Alice said. "I'm glad that you _finally_ see what Edward and the rest of us see every time we look at you: a beautiful young woman."  
My eyes were starting to tear up. "Damnit guys, my mascara is going to run! I love you both so much. I don't know what I would do without you!"

"Who are you and what have you done with my best friend?" Rosalie demanded. We all laughed as we left Charles Penzone.

We were walking towards Alice's car when my phone rang.

"Hello?"


	7. Preparing for a Date

**A/N This chapter was originally going to be an EPOV, but it was too confusing and it went back in time too much. That's why it's taken me so long to update. I'm sorry about that. I might post the EPOV as an outtake when I finish this story.**

**Special thanks to Bloody Ale and OnceUponATime170 for reviewing. I hope you like this one!**

**Disclaimer: Twilight is owned by the wonderful Stephenie Meyer. I am not her; I do not own the series or its characters.**

BPOV

"Hello?" I asked into the phone as we walked towards Alice's car.

"Bella?" the voice asked. I would know that voice anywhere.

"Yep, it's me," I told him.

"It's Edward," he said. "How are you doing?"

"I'm hungry but pretty good. I have been getting tortured by Alice and Rose today," I said while smiling. They both shot me a look and I laughed at them. "How about you; how are you doing?"

"I'm pretty good," he said simply.

"Well that's good," I said with a smile.

"Yes, it is," he said and I could hear the smile in his voice. "So, are you doing anything later today?"

"Well, I'm assuming that we're going to lunch and from there, I believe that I'm open." I looked at the girls and they nodded at me. Rosalie wagged her eyebrows at me and I realized the double meaning in my words. I blushed and rolled my eyes at her.

"That's good," he said. "I was wondering if you wanted to get coffee with me tonight." He sounded nervous and I could practically picture him running his fingers through his luscious hair.

"I would love to, Edward," I told him honestly. I wanted to talk to him more – to figure him out. "When and where?"

"Well," he started, "there is a place on High Street called Scottie McBean that I enjoy and I hope that you will too. Any time is good for me. Do you want to aim for four thirty?"

I asked the girls what they thought and they nodded their heads enthusiastically; Alice actually gave me the thumbs up and a wink. "That works for me," I told him. "I'll MapQuest it and I'll see you there, okay?"

"I can't wait," he said.

"Neither can I," I told him honestly. "Bye Edward."

"Goodbye Bella," he said before disconnecting the line. I couldn't help the smile that was frozen on my face.

"You really like him, don't you," Alice asked me as we got in her car.

"Yeah," I admitted. "He's really great and I can't wait to get to know him better."

"I'm really glad," she told me. "You are slowly bringing back the old Edward and I really appreciate that. I won't tell you what happened with him and Tanya; that's his story to tell. I will tell you that she really hurt him and he's still not totally healed, but I think that you can help him heal. I have a good feeling about you two."

I was rendered speechless at her words. She seemed to understand, though.

"So where do you wanna go to lunch?" Alice asked us.

"We could go to Morton's – my treat," Rosalie said.

"Morton's sounds good, but it's my treat," Alice said. "I'm the one running this little shindig."

"That's just because you conned me into letting you!" Rosalie said in a mock outrage.

"Excuse me," I interrupted Alice. "I am already mad at the fact that you paid for the whole day at the spa. The least you could do it let _me_ pay for it."

"Shut up, Bella," they both yelled at me.

"Why don't we figure it out when we get there?" I proposed. "We are all a little cranky, and I think we will be a little more reasonable when we have food in our stomachs."

"She makes a good point," Alice pointed out.

"Okay," Rosalie conceded. "Let's go before I eat your car!"

"No – not my car!" Alice yelled. We all laughed as we drove off towards Morton's laughing and talking and singing.

When we arrived we went to the maitre d' and she said that the wait was about fifteen to twenty minutes. We decided to go over to the bar and each ordered a vodka tonic. It was really good, and I was starting to loosen up.

We were talking and laughing when we were approached by two guys. I thought that I recognized one of them from somewhere, but I couldn't figure out where.

"Hi, my name is Tyler," the one boy started. He was African-American and was light skinned with short brown hair and light brown eyes. He was tall and built nicely. He was attractive, but he was no Edward.

"And my name is Mike," the other one finished. I looked closely at him and I realized where I recognized him from; he went to school with me!

"We were wondering if you beautiful ladies would like another drink," Tyler told us.

"Actually, we're all in relationships," I told them. "Sorry."

"Well I don't see them anywhere around here," Mike said. "They must not like you that much since they're not here. I think you girls would be better off with us. We'll show you what a _real _good time is." He wagged his eyebrows and winked as he looked us up and down.

That pissed all three of us off, but my rage plus Alice's rage was _nothing_ compared to Rosalie's rage. Her pupils grew so large that her eyes looked black. Her jaw clenched and she was shaking. She was truly terrifying at that point.

"Are you fucking _kidding_ me?!" she yelled. "Who the _fuck_ do you think you are? What kind of girls do you think _we_ are? We are not some stupid fucking _whores_ that you can pick up at a bar. We are _so _far out of your league that it's pathetic. Now you better back the fuck off before I kick you so hard that your little penises turn into _vaginas_!"

The boys look _terrified_ to say the least. I looked down at Mike's crotch and saw a wet spot. Oh, my God; he freaking _peed_ his pants! They ran away as fast as they could. I saw Tyler trip over his shoes and I couldn't help but laugh at him.

We asked the bartender for another vodka tonic for each of us to calm us down. After a couple of sips I felt pretty calm, as did Alice. Rosalie was a little more difficult to calm down. She had to finish her drink before we could get her to calm down.

I was so relieved when the maitre d' showed us to our seats. I was surprised that we didn't get kicked out of the restaurant. She started seating us at a table with chairs. Rosalie and I were starting to sit down when Alice said to the maitre d', "Excuse me; could we sit at a booth, please?" She slid a fifty dollar bill into her hand and she looked stunned.

"Of course you can," she said as she led us to a booth. We sat down and she said, "Your waiter will be with you momentarily," before she left us.

After we got our drinks and ordered our food, we started talking about the spa day that we had. I told them how I really enjoyed myself and I would be willing to try it again sometime. Then we started talking about our men.

"So Jasper wants to have a picnic at a park with me," Alice told us excitedly. "Isn't that _romantic_?"

"That really is," Rosalie said. "Emmett wants to take me wine tasting. I've never done it and it sounds really fun."

"I agree," I said. "Edward wants to take me to a little coffee shop that he likes to go to."

Alice's eyes immediately went wide and she asked, "What coffee shop did he say?"

I was a little confused by her reaction and question, but I answered anyway. "He said it was on High St. and it was called 'Scottie McBean'. Why do you ask?"

Alice paused before answering. "Well," she began, "that was the place where he met Tanya. I'm just surprised that he would want to take you there; he usually tries to avoid all things that remind him of her."

That was not the answer that I was expecting at all. I didn't know what to say. I felt angered when I heard her name, and it seemed like I was hearing it all the time now. What did she _do_ to Edward?

The waiter came back with our food and it was delicious. I tried to not think about how much money it was costing to eat this food. Today was about us and feeling good.

We declined desert when the waiter came back and he left to get the bill. I planned on asking him politely to give me the bill and hoped that it would work. He came back with the bill and said, "Who am I giving this to?"

"If you give it to me," Rosalie started, "I will give you a 30% tip."

"If you give it to me," Alice countered, "I will give you half the cost of the meal as your tip."

The waiter ended up handing the bill to Alice and he winked at her as he walked away. Rosalie let out a harsh breath and crossed her arms. Alice just stuck her tongue out at her. Alice paid and we got up to leave.

When we got to the car I said, "Okay, right now it's three o'clock. That gives me an hour and a half to get ready and meet him there."

"Ooh," Alice said excitedly. She was literally bouncing up and down. "You _have_ to let me pick out your outfit! Rosalie, you can help, too. We'll go back to your place and pick out something that will knock Edward on hit feet!"

I agreed and we headed back to our place. I was glad that my hair and make up was already done because it took nearly an hour for Alice and Rosalie to find the perfect outfit for me. They finally came out with a dress, lingerie, and shoes.

The dress was navy blue and had a cinched waist. It was strapless and ended just above the knee. (**A/N Link to dress on my profile.**) The lingerie was a black lace bra and black lace thong. The shoes were white peep toe pumps and were gorgeous. (**A/N Link to shoes on my profile.**) I put everything on and went to the mirror and was stunned.

Who is this girl? Because there is _no way_ that she is me! I turned around and looked at myself at all angles. I couldn't help but feel beautiful.

I left my bathroom to show the girls. When they saw me, their response was overwhelming.

"Oh, my God, Bella!" Alice screeched. "You look incredible!"

"You really do, hun," Rosalie agreed. "Alice and I make a good fashion team!" She gave Alice a high five.

I blushed and thanked them. "Okay, so it's four o'clock. I think we should leave now so I can get there on time," I told them.

"Okay," they said in unison. We left the apartment and got into Alice's car again.

The closer we got to Scottie's, the more nervous I became. The girls seemed to notice because they started complimenting me like crazy and telling me not to worry. I started to calm down when I saw the place.

The sign said "Scottie's Coffee and Tea" and there was a bench underneath the sign. There was a door on either side of the bench. It looked very cute.

Alice parked in the parking lot and turned to me and said, "Go get 'em. You're gonna do great."

"She's right, Bells," Rosalie agreed. "Show him what you got. And you will tell us everything that happens, okay?"

"Okay," I told her. I wasn't looking forward to that talk. I was going to get _roasted_ by them.

I got out of the car and made my way towards Scottie's. I opened the door and walked inside.

It was a quaint little place. There was a brown couch and a coffee table in the middle of the room. There were several large chairs with tables in between them. In one corner, there was a drum set, two guitars, and a keyboard. I assumed that they did open mic sessions here.

I felt a body stand behind me and put their lips to my ear. "You know, you look positively exquisite right now."

I turned around and felt my breath hitch in my throat. Standing behind me was Mike Newton.


	8. Getting to Know Edward Cullen

**A/N A special thanks to Bloody Ale for reviewing; this one's for you. Your reaction to Mike was **_**hilarious**_**. I hope that you like this chapter.**

**Ideas for future chapters equal a preview to the next chapter. ;)**

**Disclaimer: Although I own the books, Twilight is not mine; they are Stephenie Meyer's.**

BPOV

_I felt a body stand behind me and put their lips to my ear. "You know, you look positively exquisite right now."_

_I turned around and felt my breath hitch in my throat. Standing behind me was Mike Newton._

"What are you doing here, Mike?" I asked coldly as I turned around. I was still pissed off at him from the stunt at the restaurant.

"If you want me to be honest, I overheard you and your little friends talking about this place," he told me. "I went home to look up this place and then I came here. I've been waiting for you to get here since I got here."

I looked down at his pants and saw that he changed pants. I laughed and said, "I see that you also changed your pants. That's good; you wouldn't want people to know that you peed your pants."

His eyes darkened and he grabbed my arm roughly. I started telling him that he was hurting me but he interrupted me. "I'm not done with you yet, Miss Swan," he said menacingly. "I offered you a good time from the restaurant and you turned me down. I think I'm just going to have to force you."

"And I think you're going to get the fuck off of my girlfriend," a silky voice said from behind me. I was so relieved to hear his voice.

Mike grabbed my arm tighter and snarled, "You're dating _Edward Cullen_?"

I winced from the pain in my arm and said, "Yes, I am dating Edward Cullen." It felt really good to say that out loud – even if it wasn't true.

"Now get off of her before I break your jaw," Edward said dangerously. I couldn't see him, but he sounded really pissed off.

He let go of me and pushed me into Edward. He caught me and put his arms around me protectively. I liked the way his body felt wrapped around mine.

"You are going to regret this," Mike said before he stormed out of the coffee shop.

Edward turned me around to look at him. His normally bright green eyes were a dark jade and his hair was even messier than usual. He was wearing a light blue button down shirt and black pants. He looked incredible – even while he was mad.

"Are you alright?" he asked me with concern.

"I'm fine," I told him. "My arm hurts a little bit, but it's nothing that I can't handle." It was only throbbing lightly – nothing that he needed to freak out over.

"Well let's get some coffee and sit down," he proposed. "You look incredible by the way," he added. He put his hand on my lower back as we walked over to the counter. The man at the counter asked what we wanted.

"Could I get a black coffee?" I asked him.

"Actually, make those two black coffees," Edward said as he pulled out his wallet.

"Edward," I said as I shot him a look of disapproval. "I can't let you pay. It's the least I can do to thank you for saving me."

"Bella," he said. His eyes grew very intense – the darkness of his eyes were smoldering – as he looked at me from under his eyelashes. "Please let me pay for you; it's not a big deal. I'll even let you pay for the next date if that will make you feel better." Holy crap; how did he _do_ that?!

"Okay," I stuttered. I cleared my throat and said, "You know, you Cullens are so _pushy_."

He smiled crookedly at me and said, "It's part of the Cullen charm."

I rolled my eyes at him when the man came back with our coffees. Edward paid him and we made our way over to the table with creamer and sugar on it. I felt Edward's eyes on my as I added my half and half and one sugar. I turned around when I heard Edward laugh. I looked at him questioningly.

"I'm sorry," he chuckled. "I just have never met anyone who drank their coffee that way." He went over to the table and added the same things that I did.

"Yeah, Rose and I tried don't drink it any other way," I told him while smiling.

We walked over to a table by a window and sat down. We sipped our coffees in a comfortable silence. Edward seemed a little lost in his thoughts.

"I meant what I told Mike," Edward blurted out randomly. I froze and stared at him. "I really like you Bella, and I want to get to know you better, if you'll let me. Will you be my girlfriend?"

"Edward," I said breathlessly. I cleared my throat before continuing. "I would love to be your girlfriend."

He smiled crookedly at me and I felt my face turn into a smile also. I set down my coffee and crossed my legs. The dress rode up and exposed part of my thigh and I noticed Edward staring at it.

"So how was your day today?" I asked conversationally. He looked up at me and I was lost in his gaze. I had to remind myself to breathe – _again_.

"It was pretty nice," he said. "I played the piano and made Esme lunch. I also read a little today. How was your day?"

"It was actually pretty nice," I admitted to him. "I'm not usually one for girly things like going to the spa, but I found that I enjoyed myself. Your sister fit in with Rose and me really well – like we had known her forever."

"Well, I'm glad you enjoyed yourself," he said. I grabbed my coffee and started sipping it again.

"What's your favorite color?" he asked.

"Green," I said as I looked into his eyes. I blushed when I realized what I had said. My favorite color was usually blue. "What is _your_ favorite color?"

"Brown," he said simply as he smirked at me. I didn't understand how someone could like _brown_, but I let it go.

We continued asking each other random questions about each other. We told each other stories about growing up and our families and threw out random facts about ourselves.

"I idolized Carlisle to the extreme when I was growing up and still do," he told me. "He is very compassionate and smart. He loves his work as a doctor almost as much as he loves the four of us. I first enrolled at Northwestern as a pre-med student, but I realized that I didn't want to be a doctor. I then changed my major to music."

We kept talking until I heard my stomach growl. Edward asked if I had an animal in there, or if that was my stomach. I smacked him playfully and we both laughed.

"Come on," he said. "I'm taking you to dinner."

"Okay," I said. We gathered up our things and started leaving. "I'm paying though," I added.

"No way," he said while shaking his head. His eyes sparkled with amusement. "I'm not going to allow that; I'm paying."

"What?" I said in surprise. "You said I could pay for the next thing that we did!"

He chuckled and said, "Actually, silly Bella, I said that you could pay for the next date. Since we are still on this date, I'm paying – end of story."

"Okay, fine," I conceded while crossing my arms. "That doesn't mean that I'm going to like it, though."

"Bella," he said, his eyes growing very intense. "As my girlfriend, you are going to have to get over this aversion you have against people buying things for you."

He took my hand and led us to his car. I was no car expert by any stretch of the imagination, but I knew that it was expensive car. He walked us to the passenger side and opened the door for me.

"Thank you," I said as I got in the car. The car had that new car smell.

He walked to the driver's side and got in. He turned the car on and we drove off.

"Where do you want to eat?" he asked as he turned his head to look over at me.

"I really don't know," I replied. "I think you should watch the road, Edward."

"I'm not going to get us into an accident," he said while shaking his head. He did what I told him, though, and I was happy.

"I'm the daughter of the chief of police – I was raised to abide by the law," I told him.

He laughed at me and I rolled my eyes. We continued asking each other random questions about each other. My favorite thing that I had learned so far was that Edward tried to be punk when he was a teenager.

"My hair was chin length back then and I only wore black," he said with a remembering glint in his eyes. "It drove Alice _insane_. She always wanted to dress me up the way _she_ wanted to and I never let her. I eventually started letting her have her way, though; there's no resisting Alice."

We pulled up to Cap City and he got out of the car. He ran over to my door and opened it for me. I blushed as I thanked him; I wasn't used to all of the chivalry. I took his hand as we walked into the restaurant.

"Welcome to Cap City," the maitre d' said. "Table for two?"

"Yes, please," Edward told him.

The maitre d' took us to a table and Edward refused and asked for a booth. He handed the maitre d' a bill and he took it incredulously. _What _was_ it with Cullens and refusing tables_?

We walked to a booth and sat down. The maitre d' told us that our waitress would be here shortly before leaving. We looked at the menus before the waitress came.

"Hello," the waitress said kindly. "My name is Angela and I will be your server tonight. What can I get you two?" She was very pretty with wavy brown hair and light brown eyes. She was very tall – probably about six feet – and had subtle curves.

"I will have a coke," I told her.

"Two cokes, please," Edward corrected.

"Okay," said Angela. "I will have those out momentarily." She walked off and we started some light conversation. She came back a few minutes later with the cokes.

"What can I get you two?" Angela asked us after giving us our drinks.

"I would like to have the Romano crusted chicken," I told her. It was really good – it had crispy fried chicken, garlic buttered noodles, and roasted tomato cream sauce. I had it once while at dinner with Charlie and I loved it; I make it for Rosalie and me sometimes.

"I would like the New York Steak, please," Edward said.

"I will have those out as soon as I can," she said and walked away.

We chat about our friends and family and more random things about ourselves. We stayed away from the topic of past relationships – I could tell that Edward wasn't ready to talk to me about that yet. I knew it would happen, though, so I wasn't worried.

Angela came back with our food and it was perfect timing; my stomach felt like it was going to explode. I took one bite and let out an involuntary moan – it was incredible. Edward squirmed in his seat. I wondered why he kept doing that…

We ate our food rather silently. One of us would ask a question or two randomly and then we would continue eating. We did this until we were done eating. Angela saw that we were done and walked back.

"Who am I giving the bill to?" she asked, looking back and forth between us.

"He is," I told her. "He conned me into letting him pay."

She laughed and handed him the bill. "It's only because he loves you," she told me. I bit my lip and blushed at her words and wished that they were true. I knew that they weren't though, and I felt a hint of sadness. There was no way that Edward could love _me_. I covered it with a calm façade before Edward noticed.

He paid her and she walked off. He left her a very nice tip and we gathered our things and left the restaurant. He opened the door for me again and I blushed again. I really needed to control the blood flow to my cheeks around him. He smirked before walking over to the drivers' side.

We started driving towards my apartment after I gave him directions. We turned on some classical music. I felt very relaxed and peaceful in his car. He pulled into my driveway all too soon; I didn't want to leave him yet. He opened my door for me and walked me to the door.

"I had a great time, Bella," he told me. I smiled at him.

"I did too," I replied. He smiled crookedly. "I'm really glad that we did this."

"Me too," he said as he leaned closer to me. My breathing and pulse started to race. I leaned closer to him and our lips touched.

The feeling of his lips on mine was incredible. His lips were strong but soft as they moved against mine. My hands wove their way around his neck and his arms locked around my lower back. I moaned lightly and pushed myself closer too him. All too soon, he pulled away. I bit my lip and looked at him. His eyes were dark again and filled with lust. I was positive that my eyes looked the same.

"Goodnight, Bella," he said, his voice a little lower than usual.

"Goodnight, Edward," I said breathlessly. My head was spinning from kissing him.

"Be safe," was all he said before walking towards his car. He waved at me before pulling out of the driveway. I walked into the house with a shit eating grin on my face.


	9. Edwards Thoughts

**A/N This chapter is a nice, fluffy chapter to make up for the fact that I might not be able to update as frequently as I have been. I work this week, but I hope to have at least two chapters out this week.**

**Once again thank you to Bloody Ale. It really means a lot to me that you have reviewed consistently. **

**Ideas for future chapters equal a preview to the next chapter. Seriously, guys – it would help out a lot. **

**Disclaimer: Twilight is not mine, unfortunately for me. **

EPOV

I drove away from her apartment happier than I had felt in a long time. She brought out the best in me – the man that I used to be. I couldn't find it in myself to think about Tanya. The only thing that consumed my thoughts was Bella.

I thought back to the kiss we had outside her door. The feel of her lips on mine was incredible – like nothing I'd ever experienced before. I had kissed other girls before, but none of them compared to the way her full, soft lips felt as they moved in perfect time with my own.

I could feel myself falling in love with her. There were so many things about her that I loved so far.

Physically, she was absolutely stunning. Her brown eyes were so captivating. I always felt myself getting lost in them. Her lips were so full and luscious. Her skin was soft, creamy, pale, and flawless. Her dark hair contrasted so beautifully against her skin. Her breasts weren't too big or too small – they were perfect. Her frame was small and fragile and her curves were delicate. Her body fit perfectly in my own when I caught her earlier. I started getting mad thinking about that vile Mike Newton, but I refused to think about that. I continued listing things that I loved about her.

She had some things in common with me. We were both old fashioned. We were close to our mothers and had a lot of respect for our fathers. We enjoyed classic literature and music. We liked our coffee the same way. We were both introverts. We were polite and courteous.

She was opinionated and wasn't afraid to voice those opinions. Her whole face would light up when she would talk about something that she loved. She was very stubborn and tenacious. She was unbelievably perceptive and intuitive; she seemed to know that I wasn't ready to tell her about Tanya, and she seemed okay with it.

I planned on talking to Alice when I got home. I was always closest to her more than the rest of my family. She was the only person who knew the whole story about Tanya; I fed the rest of the family some story that she wanted to see other people. That's why nobody understood why it has taken me so long to get over her.

I wound around our long driveway and parked my Volvo out back with my Alice's Porsche 911, Emmett's Jeep Wrangler, Carlisle's Mercedes S55 AMG, and my special occasion car: my Aston Martin Vanquish. I was a little surprised that Carlisle was home so early, but I dismissed it.

I walked into the house, looking for Alice. I walked into the living room and saw my family. Emmett, Esme, and Carlisle were watching television. Alice was on the computer working on some fashion project that she was working on. I plopped down on the chair, making my presence known to them.

"Hey Edward," Emmett said. "How was the date?" I vaguely noticed that the rest of my family was paying attention to our conversation.

I couldn't help the huge smile that consumed my face. "It was unbelievable," I told him. "After I literally pulled Mike Newton off of her, we got our coffees; she drinks her coffee the same way that I do. We talked about just about everything. Then, she got hungry, so I took her out to dinner. Then I took her to her apartment and I kissed her."

"I'm happy for you, man," Emmett said before turning his attention to the television. I wasn't offended, though; Emmett was never a man of many words.

"I agree, honey," Esme said with a smile. It really hurts her to see me unhappy. "I think this girl is good for you."

"I'm also happy for you," Carlisle said. "But I want you to be careful, son. I don't want what happened with Tanya to happen if this doesn't work out." I knew that he was just being the voice of reason, so I chose to not get mad at him.

"Quit being such a pessimist, Dad," Alice said to him. "I hung out with her today, and I know for a fact that she is wonderful and won't hurt him." She turned to me and said, "I have a good feeling about you guys. I really think that you are going to work out."  
I looked at my family and said, "Thank you all. It means a lot to me that you all care so much. I really like her a lot and I asked her to be my girlfriend and she accepted."

Esme got up and gave me a huge hug. "Honey," she said, "This is great. I am really, truly happy for you and I hope for the best." Alice, however, looked worried. I looked at her and raised my eyebrows.

"It's not that I'm not happy for you, Edward, because I am," she said slowly. "I just think that you need to tell her about Tanya before you rush into a relationship. That's not fair to Bella; she deserves to know."

My eyebrows furrowed as I said, "I plan on telling her soon. I just don't know when. I think that I can handle telling her. It just hurts so badly to think about."

"I know," she said sympathetically. "I think that telling her will help you, though. She is a very kind person and I think that she can help you get over Tanya."

I had forgotten about our audience, so I was a little surprised to hear my mother speak.

"I agree," she told me. "I really like her and I want this to work out for you two. Promise me that you are going to tell her soon."

"I promise," I told her. "I think that I'm going to go upstairs now." I kissed Esme and Alice on the cheek and went upstairs. I walked into my room and threw myself onto the bed.

I knew that I had to tell Bella soon. I was starting to feel ready to tell her. Talking to her was very easy, so I hoped that telling her wouldn't be too difficult for me.

I started thinking about different ways to tell her. Somewhere along the way, I fell asleep.


	10. Bella's Thoughts

**A/N Holy. Crap. The response to the last chapter was overwhelming! I'm so happy that you liked it, so I'm getting this one out earlier than I planned on doing it. You guys really know how to motivate a girl! :D**

**Thanks to veteran reviewers lilquackers77 and Bloody Ale, and special thanks to new reviewers xoxPureFireworksxox and AbbiiCakes. I loved all of your opinions and encouragement. This one is for you guys! :D**

**Please, please, _please_ let me know who's point of view you want class to be in. I'm not sure whether I want to do BPOV or EPOV. Maybe I'll do both. Please let me know!!!!!!!!!!**

**Disclaimer: Twilight is not mine. If it were, there would be a lot more lemons.**

BPOV

"_Be safe," was all he said before walking towards his car. He waved at me before pulling out of the driveway. I walked into the house with a shit eating grin on my face._

I closed the door and walked into the living room where Rosalie was waiting for me.

"I'd ask you how the date went, but you are positively glowing, so that answers my question," she said as she took in my appearance.

I sighed happily as I sat down on my couch. "It was unbelievable, Rose," I told her.

"Um, care to elaborate?" she asked while raising her eyebrows.

"Well, I got there and looked around the place. Then, Mike Newton arrived and tried forcing me to 'have a good time' with him. Then –"

"Wait," Rosalie interrupted. "Mike _Newton_, the asshole from the restaurant? I swear to _God_ that I'm going to kick his ass!"

"Rose, calm down," I said. "Let me finish, okay?"

"Okay, I'm sorry," she said. "He just pisses me off so much."

"I understand," I said with a smile. "So, anyway, Edward shows up and went all knight-in-shining-armor on his ass. Then we got our coffees – he drinks his the way we do – and we sat down by a window. We talked about just about everything, minus relationships. I knew that he didn't want to talk about that just yet. Then, I started getting hungry so we went to Cap City. He drove me home and then, outside our door, he kissed me."

I braced myself for the scream that I knew that Rosalie was about to deliver, and she didn't disappoint. "Oh, my God!" she yelled as she got up and hugged me. "Bella, I am so happy for you. So, are you guys dating now?"

"Yeah," I told her. "He asked me to be his girlfriend after he saved me from Mike."

"Bella, this is awesome!" she said excitedly. It took a lot to get Rosalie like this; she must _really_ be happy for me.

"Thanks," I told her. "I'm a worried about school tomorrow. I'm terrified of having to see Mike Newton and I'm a little worried about what the other students are going to think once they find out."

"Aw, honey," she said soothingly. "It's going to be okay. You know that I'm going to be there to protect you. I am also sure that the Cullens would stand in on your behalf. There's nothing to worry about."

"Thank you, Rose," I said gratefully. "I really appreciate it."

"It's no problem, Bells," she told me. "You know I love you."

"I love you too, Rose," I replied. "Well, I'm exhausted, so I think that I'm going to go to bed."

"I understand," she said. "You have had a long and eventful day today. I'll make breakfast in the morning so you can get some extra sleep."

I nodded and went upstairs to the bathroom. I looked at myself in the mirror and was astonished at what I saw.

Apart from the obvious changes of the makeover, I looked totally different. My eyes were no longer just flat brown; they sparkled with happiness. My cheeks were lightly pink and my skin looked like it was glowing. I really had it bad for him.

I pulled my hair into a ponytail and started washing my face to get the make up off. I then meticulously brushed my teeth. I left the bathroom and went to my room to change into some pjs. After I put on my sweatpants and an oversized t-shirt, I plopped onto my bed and stared at the ceiling, thinking about Edward.

He was just such an incredible human being both physically and mentally.

Physically, he was like my own personal Adonis. It felt good calling him _mine_; my Edward. I mentally sighed at the thought. His unruly hair was beautiful and practically begged me to run my fingers through it. If you looked up sex hair in the dictionary, his hair would be the first definition. His eyes were so green and intense – like they were trying to see into my soul. His nose was strong and straight, but neither too big nor too small. His lips were soft but masculine. His muscles were noticeable but not over defined like his brother's were. I couldn't wait to see him without clothes, but I knew that wouldn't happen anytime soon. Still, a girl could hope…

Mentally, he was astonishing. He was smart and had a good memory. He was a musician and I could tell that he loved it a lot. I was sure that he was being modest about his abilities, and I couldn't wait to see what those talented fingers could do on the piano. He was an attentive listener and conversation flowed easily with him. I could tell that he was an introvert like me, but with him, I felt so comfortable with talking about everything. He was chivalrous and gentlemanly which was something that I was surprised by, but liked a lot. He was very protective of me, but not to the point of being stalkerish. He was a loving and caring person. He never did anything halfway.

Somewhere during all of that, I had an epiphany; I was falling in love with Edward Cullen. I knew that I wasn't in love with him yet; I couldn't fall in love with him until he told me about Tanya. I was frustrated that she was keeping us apart without me even_ knowing_ the woman, but I knew that Edward needed his own time to heal. I would be there 100% for him when he decided to tell me. What was the worst thing that could have happened?

I felt my eyelids droop and I allowed myself to fall asleep to thoughts of Edward.


	11. Facing the Class EPOV

**A/N Thanks to luv4edwardcullen for reviewing and a very special thanks to lilquackers77, Blayke, and Bloody Ale for your ideas for this chapter. I believe that this is my longest chapter yet, and I couldn't have done it without you guys. Thank you a million times!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight. My birthday is in 8 days; do you think Stephenie Meyer would hand over her beloved series for my birthday? No, probably not. Damn.**

EPOV

I woke up early the next morning with mixed emotions. I was excited to see Bella again, but I wasn't looking forward to dealing with appalling Mike Newton. I would have to talk to Esme about the situation. I was sure that she would understand.

I took a quick shower before getting dressed. I decided not to bother with my hair when I got out; it was going to do what it wanted to do. I brushed by teeth before heading to my room to get dressed. I pulled a black v-neck t-shirt and black jeans out of my closet. I pulled them and headed downstairs to find Esme. It was no surprise to me when I found her in the kitchen working on breakfast.

"Would you like some help?" I asked her as I sat down at our table.

"No thank you, honey," she said as she scrambled the eggs. "Not right now, but if your brother and sister aren't down here in the next fifteen minutes, could you wake them up?"

"Of course," I told her. I wasn't sure how to ease into the topic, so I went for the blunt approach. "I need to keep Bella and myself away from Mike Newton, Mom."

She looked rather taken aback as she responded. "But Edward," she said as she walked over to the table to make me a plate of food. "We need to help out all of the students. What would the others think if you didn't help him? We need to make sure that you dating Bella won't cause trouble in the school."

Shit, I didn't even think of the other students. As much as I would love to sit at Bella's table for the whole class period, I was there to be a teacher's assistant, and that meant that I had to help out _all_ of the students. What was I going to do?

"Well what if we moved Bella and Rosalie to a different table and have Emmett at Mike's table?" I thought aloud. "Mike would be terrified of Emmett and therefore wouldn't cause trouble today."

"That's actually not a bad idea," she said. "Bella and Rosalie can switch with Jasper and Jacob so they are as far away from Mike as possible. We'll have you at their table, Emmett with Mike and Eric, Alice with Jasper and Jacob, and I will be with Jessica and Lauren. Does that ease your worries?"

"Yes, Mom," I told her. It didn't completely ease my worries because that would involve Mike six feet under, but I wasn't about to tell her that. "Thank you for understanding and helping. Both Bella and I thank you."

"You really do like this girl," she stated.

I couldn't help the smile that formed on my face as I thought about her. "Yeah," I told her. "I really do like her a lot, and I want her to be safe. I will not tolerate someone trying to harm her."

"I really am happy for you," she said. "Now why don't you go wake your siblings up?"

"Of course," I said as I got up from the table. I headed to Emmett's room first because he was the hardest to wake up. I opened his door and laughed at what I saw.

He was sprawled across the bed at a 45° angle and his blankets were at the foot of the bed. I stood there thinking of the worst way to wake him up. I smirked when I thought of how to do it; he was going to hate me for this.

"Emmett, wake up!" I yelled while shaking him. "Mom fell and I think she broke something!"

He shot up and said worriedly, "Where is she?"

"She's in the kitchen! Let's go!" I yelled.

We ran downstairs and went into the kitchen. The look on Emmett's face when he realized that Mom was fine was _priceless_. His eyes bugged out and his mouth hung open.

"Edward Anthony Masen Cullen! I'm going to kick you ass!" was all he yelled before chasing me around the house.

"Emmett McCarty Cullen! I will not have you cursing in my house!" Esme yelled at him.

He froze before apologizing to her. I felt relieved that he was done; Emmett was very strong. I headed upstairs to Alice's room. I opened her door and found her putting on make up by her mirror. I walked over to her and saw my reflection in the mirror.

"Morning, Alice," I said to her.

"Morning," she replied. "So, what did you do to make Emmett so mad?"

I laughed and said, "I told him that Mom fell and broke something."

She laughed as well as she said, "I feel bad for laughing because that's not a funny matter, but that is hilarious that you did that. I could hear him yell and chase you from up here with my door closed!"

I looked down with shame. "Sorry, Alice."

She smiled at me and said, "I'm not mad at you, Edward. It was a very interesting twist in my morning." I lifted my eyes and smiled back at her. "Are you ready to face the class?"

I felt the smile fall off of my face as I responded. "I'm not entirely sure just yet. I talked to Mom earlier and she's changing some arrangements for us."

She frowned slightly as she said, "Don't you think that you're going a little overboard, Edward?"

I glared at her and said, "What do you mean?"

She shook her head and asked, "What are the chances that he's going to do something to her in the middle of school where there are security cameras and people who would notice if something happened?"

She did have a good point, but I didn't care. "I'm not going to take any chances," I told her. "You weren't there, so you don't understand. He was going to _rape_ her if I hadn't gotten there in time. I refuse to allow her to be in danger."

"I understand your concern," she said soothingly. "And I'm not saying that you shouldn't protect her – that would be stupid. I'm just saying that you are going a little overboard with it, that's all."

"I appreciate your input," I said ending that conversation. "We'd better get downstairs. Mom's probably wondering what's taking us so long."

She nodded and we walked downstairs. We entered the living room and both Esme and Emmett smiled at us. Emmett wasn't known for holding grudges, but I wasn't stupid enough to think that I was safe.

Esme made herself and Alice a plate and sat with Emmett at the table. I felt a little awkward standing there, so I excused myself and walked into the living room. I decided to sit on the couch and lose myself in my thoughts.

I thought back to the conversation I had with Alice. I knew that she was wrong; Bella needed my protection. She was so fragile and I felt it was my job to shield her from anyone and anything that wanted to harm her. It didn't help that she seemed to welcome danger. Her reactions were all wrong. I shook my head and rolled my eyes.

"Edward?" Esme asked. "We're leaving now. Do you mind if we take your car? It's the only car that will fit us all."

"Yeah, of course," I told her as I got up. I accidently got up too fast and the blood rushed to my head. I stopped for a second to get my vision back before walking over to Esme. We walked together towards the garage where my brother and sister were waiting for us. I got in the drivers seat, Emmett got in the passenger seat, and Esme and Alice sat in the backseat. I backed out of the driveway when I noticed that everybody was buckled in.

We drove quietly, all of us lost in our own thoughts. I figured that Emmett was thinking about Rosalie because his eyes were glazed over and his breathing was heavy. I knew that Esme was thinking about class because her eyebrows were furrowed in concentration. I wasn't entirely sure what Alice was thinking, though; it wasn't like I could read minds.

I pulled into the parking lot and there weren't any cars there yet. That didn't surprise me, though; we were about a half an hour early.

We all got out of the car and headed towards the school. Esme got out her key and unlocked the door. We all walked in and went to the demonstration table.

"Okay," she addressed us. "Today we are going to make chocolate cake. If you remember, I made some at Emmett's birthday last year."

"Ooh," Alice squealed. "I remember that; it was incredible!"

"Thank you, Alice," Esme said with a smile. "We need to gather the ingredients to make the cake." She told us the ingredients and we walked over the refrigerator and grabbed them. We walked back to the demonstration table and set them down.

"Okay, so we'll have to let these sit overnight so that they will be cake," she told us. "I will come back here tomorrow so that you can help Alice get ready for her date." She looked at her knowingly with a smile.

We chat for a little bit before students starting filing in. I grinned like a fool when I saw Bella. She smiled back and waved before making her way over to me, Rosalie right behind her.

"Hi," she said breathlessly as she stood in front of me.

I engulfed her into a hug as I said, "Hey, beautiful."

She pulled herself back and blushed delicately. I loved that blush. I loved _her_.

I was about to ask her how she slept when I saw Mike. I was consumed by rage just looking at him. This class was going to be _very_ difficult for me. He looked me dead in the eye and I wished that looks could kill, because if they could, Mike would be six feet under. I smiled internally at the thought.

Bella put her hand on my cheek and said, "Calm down, Edward. You getting into a fight won't help anybody out."

She had a good point. I took a few deep breaths before smiling at her to let her know that I was okay. Her returning smile was breathtaking. I walked her over to Jasper's old table. I hoped that Alice had told him about the change. I looked over at her and saw her and Jasper locked in a staring war. I felt like I was intruding on a personal moment, so I looked away.

"I'm excited for class today," she said excitedly.

I smiled at her excitement and said, "I'm glad. I think that you are going to like today's lesson."

"Of course Edward's over there chatting up his girlfriend," I heard Mike say from his desk. I heard two gasps from behind me. I turned around to see the stunned faces of Jessica and Lauren. Bella put her arms around me to restrain me. I turned to see her worried face and I lost all inclination I had to go pound Mike's face in. I just wanted her to smile again. Before I could do anything about it, my mother cleared her throat. I got up and made my way to the front of the class.

"As I'm sure you have realized that we are making cake from the ingredients behind me," she said. A couple of people nodded their heads. "I would like one person from each table and grab the ingredients. The other person will grab the bowls, an electric mixer, pans, spoon, spatulas, etc."

Jacob, Bella, Jessica, and Eric went to get the ingredients while Jasper, Rosalie, Lauren, and Mike went to get the utensils they would need. I was very happy that Mike wasn't anywhere near Bella because I would've lost it. I looked over at Bella and my heart started beating faster. Bella smiled at me when she saw me staring at her and I felt my face turn into a smile. She blushed and walked back to her table.

Once everybody was back Esme started telling them how to make the cake. I smiled at the look of intense concentration that was on Bella's face. Emmett walked over to Mike's table. I thoroughly enjoyed the look of fear that was on Mike's face. Alice walked over to Jasper's table with a huge smile on her face; she really must like him because I've never seen her so happy. Esme walked over to Jessica's table with an artificial smile. I walked over to Bella with the biggest smile on my face. Her responding smile was breathtaking.

"Hello Bella," I said with my smile still on my face.

Her eyes sparkled as she said hi back.

"Okay, I'm going to puke from the amount of lovey dovey-ness going on here, so let's get to cooking," Rosalie said somewhat rudely. I wasn't offended, though; that's just how Rosalie was. Bella and I both rolled our eyes and they got to work. I helped out when it was necessary, but they seemed to be a very good team. Bella would repeat the directions and Rosalie would do them. I smiled internally at her ability to take control. _I wonder where else she can take control_… I shook my head of my inappropriate thoughts.

They were the first group to be done, which I was happy about; that meant there was more time for me to talk to Bella. I took their cake to the oven and put it in. I walked back to see Bella and Rosalie in a conversation. Bella looked embarrassed, so I decided to free her.

"Did you miss me?" I said jokingly as I walked over to her, leaning on her table.

She looked down and blushed while nodding her head. I put my finger under her chin and lifted her head so that our eyes would meet. All I could feel was my love for her, and it frustrated me that I couldn't tell her yet. I wasn't sure how long we were trapped in each other's gazes, but I didn't care; I could stare into her eyes forever. I heard Rosalie clear her throat loudly. Bella looked away with a blush and I put my hands in my pockets.

"So, I had a fun time last night," I told her honestly.

"Yeah, I did too," she replied. "I'm glad that we did that. We should definately do it again, sometime."

She provided the perfect opportunity for me. It was so obvious that she had to see it coming. "Well, I was wondering if you wanted to do something this weekend with me?" I ran my fingers through my hair – a nervous habit I had.

She smiled at me and said, "I would love to." My face pulled itself into a huge smile. I vaguely heard Rosalie sigh loudly, but I was too busy staring at the wonderful woman that I called my girlfriend to care.

"That's great," I said with relief. "Can I call you tonight?"

"Of course," she said. "I look forward to it."

The other students were finishing up with their cakes, so I knew that I didn't have much more time with her. I could barely control the urge to kiss her, but I continuously reminded myself that we were in a classroom with other people and my mother was only twenty feet behind me.

"Okay, I will call you around 7," I told her. "If that's okay with you, of course," I added when I realized that I was being a bit presumptuous.

"That works for me," she said. "I think that I won't be busy then."

I smiled and said, "Okay, then." I looked to the front and saw my family already standing there, waiting for me. "I should probably get to the front of the class now, but I will walk you to your car, if you want me to."

"I would like that," she said shyly.

I took her hand and kissed it before walking to the front. I thought I heard her sigh, but it was probably my imagination.

"You all did wonderfully on your cakes," Esme said to the class. "We will finish the cakes and eat them. I look forward to seeing you all again on Friday."

The class started getting up and I scurried towards Bella. I saw Emmett walk over to Rosalie and I smiled at them. They looked like they were very happy together. Bella looked to where I was looking and smiled as well.

"They are really good for each other, aren't they?" she asked as we started walking to her car.

"Yeah, Emmett usually isn't so calm," I told her. "This morning I played a prank on him and he didn't kill me. Although, that might've been because he couldn't catch me." I said with a wink.

"What did you do?" she asked.

"It's kind of horrible," I said. "I said that Esme fell and I thought that she broke something. It was really funny, though."

She smacked my arm and said, "Edward whatever-your-middle-name-is Cullen, that is horrible! I can't believe that you did that." I looked at her sheepishly but saw that I was forgiven.

"I actually have two middle names: Anthony Masen. Anthony was Carlisle's father's name and Masen was Esme's father's name."

"Edward Anthony Masen Cullen," she said. "I think that I like it." She pretended to think about it for a second and said, "Yeah, I do like it. In case you're wondering, my middle name is Marie."

"Isabella Marie Swan," I said, mimicking her. "I think that I like it." I pretended to think about it like she did. "Yeah, I do like it."

We laughed together as we reached Rosalie's car. I didn't want to leave her, and I'm sure that my face showed it.

"I'll see you around, Bella," I said somewhat sadly.

I started to turn away but she grabbed my arm. I turned around to look at her when she attacked my lips with her own. I responded immediately, locking my arms around her waist, pulling her closer to me. Her fingers locked in my hair and pulled lightly. I groaned lightly as she moaned. I ran my tongue along her bottom lip and was pleased when she opened her mouth to me. Our tongues fought for dominance and mine won. I plunged into her mouth tasting her; she tasted sweet and minty. I could feel my body starting to react to her.

"Go fuck your whore somewhere else! We all don't want to see that!" I heard someone yell. I didn't have to look to know whose voice that was.

I pulled away from her and saw Mike Newton sniggering as he got into his car. He was lucky that he had is car to protect him, because I seriously wanted to kill him. Bella grabbed my face and forced me to look at her. I felt my anger melt away slowly as I stared into her eyes. Her eyes were big and round and I couldn't look away from her if my life depended on it. I took a few deep breaths and felt back to normal.

"I'm sorry, love," I said. "He's just really testing my self control."

She got a glint in her eyes as she said, "If you're going to have a lapse in control, I can think of a better place for it." I immediately attacked her mouth after that. This woman was going to be the death of me, I swear. I pulled away from her and smiled at her. Her already full lips were kiss swollen and _I_ was the cause of that. I felt very smug at that moment.

"I'll see you later," she said.

"Goodbye, my Bella," I replied.

I walked towards my car where my family was waiting for me with a huge smile on my face. I knew that I was going to get roasted by them in the car, but in that moment, I didn't care. I was still high off of Bella, and I reveled in the fact that she was _mine_.


	12. Facing the Class: the Students POV

**A/N So this is "Facing the Class" in Mike and Lauren's POV. It was requested that I do this and I liked the idea, so here we are. Tell me if you like it or not and/or if you want more of their point of view. I personally don't like it that much, but this story is for you guys. If you want it then I'll do it.**

**As usual, thanks to those who reviewed: Lilquackers77, luv4edwardcullen, Ri40, and Bloody Ale, you guys keep me motivated and I appreciate all of you.**

**Disclaimer: Twilight isn't mine, and unless Stephenie Meyer gives me her series for my birthday (which would be the coolest gift ever), it won't be mine anytime soon.**

Mike POV

I left the coffee shop seriously pissed off. How dare that bitch defy _me_. I am Mike fucking Newton; girls drop to their knees with a snap of my _finger_. I've never been turned down by a girl in my life. If that didn't piss me off enough, she had to go and flaunt Edward fucking _Cullen_ in my face. No wonder why she got into the school on full scholarship; she was fucking the TA.

I formulated plans to bring the two of them down. I had to find some dirt on them; something that would cause them pain and humiliation. I knew that I wouldn't be able to act alone.

I pulled into the driveway of my parent's house where I lived. I planned on moving out as soon as I could. I tossed my keys on the table in the foyer and headed towards my room in the basement. I roughly pulled my clothes off and threw them on my floor before changing into pajama bottoms. I threw myself onto my bed angrily and started thinking about what I liked about Bella.

Her long, brown hair was just begging to be pulled as I fucked her from behind. Her plump red lips begged to be wrapped around my cock as I thrust into the back of her throat. Her breasts were full and would fit perfectly in my palm. Her small hands begged to be wrapped around my cock. Her long ass legs just begged to be wrapped around my waist as I fucked her until she couldn't walk.

I was getting very horny just thinking about her, so I pulled my cock and started stroking myself while pretending it was her. I started at the base and pulled my hand roughly down and pulled it back up softly before pulling it roughly down again. I closed my eyes and pretended that it was her.

"Fuck, Bella," I moaned as I stroked myself faster. I could feel my release coming so I imagined that she was getting on her knees to service me with her mouth. I pretended that she shoved me all the way to the back of her throat before bobbing her pretty little head back and forth.

"Ah, fuck, so good, Bella," I said while breathing heavily. "I'm gonna cum. I'm gonna –" I jizzed before I could finish my sentence. My eyes rolled to the back of my head as I released in three long spurts.

_I will make Bella Swan mine_, was the last thought I had before falling asleep.

Lauren POV

I woke up a little later than I wanted to; it was 5:40 am. I was pissed because that meant less time to look beautiful for my future husband, Edward Cullen. _Mmm, what a beautiful man he is. _I mentally sighed before heading to my shower.

I took a quicker shower than I normally did; only about twenty minutes. I got out and wrapped a towel around my body and another one around my head before heading to my living room. I lived alone, so it didn't matter to me that I was walking around my apartment practically naked. I turned on AMTV and squealed when I saw "Fire Burning" by Sean Kingston playing on the television. _That's my_ favorite _song!_

I got up and went to my kitchen and started brewing my coffee while swinging my hips seductively. The song ended and was replaced by "Love Game" by Lady GaGa playing. I continued my dancing like I was a cyclone. My coffee was done brewing at the exact same time that the television turned to commercial break. _Shit, just my luck._

I made myself a cup of coffee; half of the cup was filled with French Vanilla creamer and the other half was dark coffee. I walked back over to the couch carefully and sat down. I sipped my coffee while the commercials played. It didn't take me long to finish my coffee, so I walked back to my bedroom to get ready.

I took off the towels and looked through my closet to find what I was going to wear today. I decided to wear a pink Hollister t-shirt, skinny jeans, and wedges. I put the shirt and jeans on before going to the bathroom to work on my hair.

I walked into the bathroom and plugged in my hair straightener and blow dried my hair. I then straightened my hair and parted it down the middle. When I decided that my hair was done, I brushed my teeth. I put on blue eye shadow to make my brown eyes pop and some shiny, glittery pink lip gloss to make my lips look fuller. I walked back to my room to see how I looked. I did a full 360° turn to look at myself. _I look good_! I put on my wedges and walked downstairs.

I grabbed my keys before walking out the door towards my pink corvette. It was so cute and I loved it. Daddy got it for me for a graduation present and got it customized for me. I got in, turned on the radio, and drove towards school. "Poker Face" by Lady GaGa was playing and I started singing along.

I didn't even want to go to school; Daddy was making me. He says that, "the perfect woman is beautiful and knows how to cook and clean." He let me choose where I wanted to go, though, which was awesome. Edward and Emmett are hot, obviously, so that's why I chose "the Cullenary School." I was going to do anything and everything in my power to get him.

I drove up to the school where I found Jessica waiting for me. She saw me and waved enthusiastically. I didn't really like her, but I didn't like hanging out with girls who were prettier and smarter than me, so the other girls were out. She walked over to me and I rolled my eyes internally. She was like an obedient dog or something.

"Morning, Jess," I said with a fake smile. She didn't notice that it was fake and smiled right back.

"Morning Laurie," she replied. God, I fucking hated that nickname.

"Are you excited about school?" she asked. "I'm excited because I'm going to see Edward again. He's so beautiful, don't you think? I just want to eat him all up…" She kept rambling on for a minute or two. I was only vaguely listening to her. All I had to do was nod my head a couple of times.

We started walking when we saw some of the other people walk in. The Cullens were standing towards the front of the class. I was about to wave to him when he smiled crookedly at me. I smiled in response and started walking towards him. I felt two people brush past me, but I didn't care; Edward Cullen wanted to talk to _me_!

"Hi," I heard one the brunette say. Belle, I think was her name.

"Hi beautiful," I heard Edward say as he threw her into a hug. I stopped dead in my tracks. _What?!_

I looked over at him and saw him glare at me murderously. I started freaking out and backing away because he looked deranged at that moment. I went back to our table with a very confused look on my face.

"What were you doing?" Jessica asked snobbishly.

"I forgot which table we sat at," I lied. She didn't notice that I was lying, though.

I watched as he took Bella over to Jacob's old table and wondered what that was all about. I dismissed it because I heard the most earth-shattering news from the table next to me.

"Of course Edward's over there chatting up his girlfriend," the voice said. Both Jessica and I gasped. _How could he do this to me_? Edward turned around with a look of rage on his face. I was stunned and there was no doubt in my mind that my face showed it. I watched as that Belle chick put her arms around him. I ignored them and turned to look at the table next to me.

I looked over at the table and saw Mike with a huge smirk on his face.

"Are you serious?" I mouthed to him after tapping lightly on the table to get his attention.

"Yeah," he mouthed back. "I'll tell you all about it after school."

I nodded and then turned to the front of the class where Esme was talking. I heard her tell us to get the utensils, so when the class got up, I went to that group. I was still in a daze from the news. He couldn't seriously be dating her, could he? He hasn't dated anybody since that Tanya chick; what made him start now?

There were so many questions running through my head at the moment that I had to shake my head to clear them. I grabbed the utensils and walked back to our table in a daze. I saw Esme standing at our table talking to Jessica. _Damn it all to hell, why can't we have Edward or Emmett?_

"Hello, Lauren," she said politely to me. "Are you ready to make the cake?" she asked both of us.

"Yes!" Jessica said enthusiastically. She was so over-the-top. I nodded my head at her. She smiled and we got to work. Esme would help us out if we couldn't remember how to make something. We were the second group finished which was cool, I guess. We started chatting lightly before Esme left us to go to the front of the classroom.

"Well, I was wondering if you wanted to do something this weekend with me?" I heard Edward ask.

I was pissed off, and I saw Jessica make a fist out of the corner of my eyes.

"I would love to," I heard her respond. I was going to take that bitch down. I just needed a plan.

They continued talking until he got up. He kissed her hand and she sighed lightly.

"You all did wonderfully on your cakes," I vaguely heard Esme say. "We will finish our cakes and eat them. I look forward to seeing you all again on Friday."

I got up and walked towards Mike. Jessica, being the stalker that she was, followed me. The three of us walked outside towards his car.

"Okay, spill it," I demanded of him.

"Okay, so I went to this coffee shop yesterday and I saw Bella there," he said. "I went up to her to talk to her, because I'm nice like that when Edward Cullen walks up to me and starts freaking the fuck out. So I'm like 'whoa, dude; what's your problem?' and he was like, 'get the fuck away from my girlfriend.' I left them and went home because he was looking at her like a blind man seeing for the first time. It was disgusting."

"I fucking hate her!" I heard Jessica say. I laughed a little because it seemed that I wasn't the only one who was crushing on Cullen.

"I know," he said while nodding. "I want to do something to bring them down, but I need some help, and I think you girls are perfect for the job."

"Yeah, I'll do anything," Jessica said desperately. _What a whore_.

"Sure, I'm in," I said. "What's your plan?"

"How about you guys give me your numbers so I can call you and tell you?" he suggested.

We nodded and gave him our number. We said goodbye to him and started walking towards out cars. All of the sudden, I heard Mike yell.

"Go fuck your whore somewhere else!" he yelled at them. "We all don't want to see that shit!"

Jessica and I started cracking up at that. We said goodbye to each other and headed towards our cars.

I vowed right there that I would bring her down, and I sure as hell couldn't wait.


	13. Vegging After School

**A/N I have to start off giving a HUGE thanks to Blayke for her review. You have no idea how your words touched me. Also, thank you to lilquackers77 and Bloody Ale for reviewing.**

**Disclaimer: Twilight isn't mine. Unless Stephenie Meyer gives me her series on my birthday (which is in ****4 days****!) then it won't be mine anytime soon.**

BPOV

I was all hot and bothered when Edward left me in the parking lot. How could I _not_ be? His lips were soft but strong and he tasted so good that I wished that I could spend all of my time kissing him.

I walked over to Rosalie where she was waiting for me impatiently. She looked me over and said, "Thanks for _finally_ joining us." She rolled her eyes and we got in her car. I rode with her in a daze because I couldn't stop thinking about him. She might have been talking, but I was oblivious to it.

He looked particularly delicious today in a tight black t-shirt that hugged his muscles and tight black jeans that showed off his thigh muscles and his butt; he had a wonderful butt. I couldn't wait to dig my nails in it when I sucked his dick. I unconsciously licked my lips at the thought. His mouth tasted delicious, so I could only imagine what his _dick_ tasted like. I shook my head of my inappropriate thoughts.

What was I going to do about his temper? I understand that people have tempers – I have a pretty bad one myself – but his temper was _horrible_. His chiseled jaw would clench, his nostrils would flair, and his eyes would turn almost black. He still looks beautiful when he's mad, but he looks terrifying. It's a good thing that I seem to be able to calm him down, but what if we get in a fight and he looses his temper with _me_? I decided to change my train of thought.

I was excited for whatever he had planned for this weekend. I usually wasn't a fan of surprises, but I seemed to change a lot for Edward. What could he possibly have planned for me? I would have to try coaxing it out of him later. I hoped that he was going to tell me about Tanya during the date, but I wasn't going to force him to tell me; he would tell me when he felt that he was ready. I was really curious as to what happened and furious with her for whatever she did to him. I was starting to get angry thinking about it, so I changed the subject in my head.

He called me "love" and "my Bella" today. _Swoon_. I'm not even sure that he knew that he was saying those things. I decided that I liked that because that means that he thinks of me that way. Maybe there is a possibility that he _could_ love me someday.

Rosalie pulled into the driveway and we got out of the car and walked towards the apartment. I think Rosalie could tell that my mind was elsewhere, like it usually was, because she headed upstairs while I went to the living room and layed on the couch, still lost in my thoughts. The couch was very comfy and I could feel myself starting to fall asleep. I grabbed the blanket that was hanging on the side of the couch and wrapped it around myself like a cocoon. It wasn't long after that I fell asleep.

I woke up to my phone ringing loudly on the floor. It must have fallen out when I fell asleep. I picked it up and answered it.

"Hello?" I asked, not knowing who it was because I didn't look at the name on the caller ID.

"Good morning, sleepyhead," I heard the voice chuckle.

"Ha ha, Edward," I said sarcastically. I stretched hugely and groaned. "What time is it?"

"It's 3:30," he told me. "Do you want me to let you go?"

"No!" I nearly yelled. I blushed at my loudness and lowered my voice. "I'm fine. I need to get up anyway or else I'm going to mess up my sleep schedule."

"Good point," he said. I yawned hugely and he laughed at me.

"Shut up," I said playfully.

"There was a point to this call I promise," he said. "I was wondering if you wanted to come over tomorrow because I'll have the house to myself…"

"Yeah, I would like that," I told him with a smile. I could imagine his glorious crooked smile in my head. "What time would you like me to come over?"

"Um, anytime is good," he said. "What time is good for you?"

I thought about it for a second. "Eleven sounds good because we could cook brunch together. What do you think?"

"I think that's a wonderful idea," he replied. "Wear whatever you would like, although I would prefer it if you didn't wear anything."

I blushed at his words. I covered my embarrassment with sarcasm. "Because that wouldn't be awkward driving without any clothes," I said. "Plus, everybody would see my naked body."

"Oh, good point," he said. "I don't think I want anyone else to see you naked; that's for my eyes only."

We laughed together and chat for a little bit longer. I heard Rosalie come down the stairs, and I told him that I had to go.

"Goodbye, my love," he said.

"Goodbye, Edward," I replied before closing the phone. "Hey Rose."

"Hey," she said happily.

I paused to process her mood. "You seem very happy," I said.

"I have been talking to Emmett since we got home," she informed me with a huge smile. "I just came down here because I'm freaking starving. Want me to make us something?"

"Sure, that sounds good," I told her. She left me to go to the kitchen to make some food.

She came back with some left over chicken from Sunday and some mashed potatoes. I took one bite and my stomach wouldn't shut up; I guess I was hungrier than I thought that I was.

"So, Edward wants me to come over tomorrow while you are with Emmett and Alice is with Jasper," I told her as she sat down on her couch.

"Ooh, what do you think you're going to do?" she asked.

"I'm not sure," I told her. "He told me to wear whatever I wanted to." I blushed as I remembered what he _really_ wanted me to wear.

"Whoa, what's the blush for?" she asked. "You're keeping something from me!"

I decided to suck it up and tell her. She would think that it was hilarious. "He said that he would prefer it if I didn't wear anything," I told her and my blush darkened.

Rosalie didn't disappoint; she started cracking up. "Well, as fun as that would be, you can't do that," she said. She gasped suddenly and I looked at her questioningly. "You _have_ to let me dress you. I'm going to have Mr. Edward Cullen eating out of the palm of your hand."

I was a little apprehensive about letting Rosalie dress me because she seemed to be under the ludicrous impression that I had the same kind of body that she did. Sure, I was skinny, but I'm not curvy like she is.

As if she could hear what I was thinking she said, "You have a fantastic body, Bella. Girls like Jessica would _kill_ to have your body."

We both laughed at that. I eventually agreed to let her dress me, even though it was against my better judgment.

I took our plates into the kitchen and cleaned up. When I walked back into the living room, Rosalie was looking through movies.

"I'm kinda in the mood for a chick flick," Rosalie told me. "I can't choose between 'Pretty Woman' 'Legally Blonde' or 'The Notebook' so you choose."

I thought about it and chose "Pretty Woman." Minus the whole being a prostitute, I could relate to Vivian's situation. First of all, the man's name is Edward. He's rich, handsome, and courteous. I was stubborn like her and having my Edward in my life had turned my life upside down.

When that ended I got up to make us some kettle corn and Rosalie put in "Legally Blonde." I poured two bowls for us and walked back to the living room.

Towards the end of the movie, I started getting really tired, so I said goodnight to Rosalie and gave her a hug and walked upstairs. I went to the bathroom and washed my face and brushed my teeth before heading to my room. I changed into a pajama set that Rosalie gave me for my birthday; a pink camisole and short shorts. I figured that nobody was going to see me, so I didn't really care what I was wearing.

I walked over to my bed and lay down and made myself comfortable. I fell asleep soon after that to thoughts of Edward.

I don't know how long I was asleep, but I was woken up by a loud pounding by my window. I immediately ran over to my closet and grabbed my baseball bat before opening the curtains. I gasped when I saw what was there.

Edward Cullen was smiling crookedly at me while hanging from the branches of the tree outside my window.


	14. A Midnight Surprise

**A/N _TODAY IS MY BIRTHDAY!!!_ :D**** This is a nice, lemony scene. Your reviews would be the best birthday present ever! Seriously, they make me feel all warm and fuzzy and make me want to update faster.  
****  
Thank you to lilquackers77, Bloody Ale, and BabyJ91687 for reviewing. This chapter is for you guys! Also, Blayke, this one is for you, too!****Disclaimer: Twilight isn't mine, unfortunately for me. **

BPOV

_Edward Cullen was smiling crookedly at me while hanging from the branches of the tree outside my window._

I dropped the bat and my jaw fell open as I looked at him. What was he _doing_? I opened the window and asked, "What are you doing, Edward? Are you suicidal or something?"

He just laughed at me and said, "I missed you. Now back up before I accidently kick you."

I scampered out of the way and he swung his long legs back and forth before swinging into my room. There was a thud where we landed and we both looked towards the door. Rosalie either didn't hear it, or she didn't care what the noise was.

"So, I must say that I _love_ this pajama set," Edward said with a smirk.

I rolled my eyes at him and walked over to my bed. I got under the covers and made myself. Edward was standing by the window awkwardly, so I decided to get bold.

"Wanna join?" I asked him while biting my lip.

Edward nodded enthusiastically and took off his shoes by the window. He sauntered over to my bed and looked at me. I moved over so that he would have more room. He got under the covers and adjusted himself so that we were facing each other. His breath was so sweet smelling and our faces were only inches apart. I didn't even try to resist when he leaned closer to kiss me.

The kiss started as a sweet kiss, but it started building stronger and more passionate. My fingers moved to his neck and his arms snaked around my waist. My tongue traced along his lower lip, silently asking him to allow me to deepen the kiss. I was pleased when he opened his mouth to me. I massaged his tongue with my own and our lips continued moving in perfect harmony. I had to keep reminding myself to breathe.

I moved my hands up to his hair and pulled lightly. He groaned and pulled me closer to him. I kicked the covers off of us because my body was getting very hot. Edward trailed his hands down my leg and curled his hand around my calf. Then, unexpectedly, he pulled my leg around his waist. I stopped breathing because I could feel his arousal in between my legs.

"You're wearing too many clothes," I practically growled at him.

He chuckled and pulled off his shirt. I gasped at what I saw. His arms were strong and defined. His collar bones stood out slightly. His pecks were hard and he had a six pack.

"See something you like?" he asked smugly with a sexy smirk.

I licked my lips and said, "I see a _lot_ of things that I like. The most important one being the thing standing at attention for me in between your legs."

I bit my lip and widened my eyes at him. The next thing I knew, I was on my back and he was attacking my mouth passionately. He broke away so that he could take off my shirt. I arched my back and raised my arms to help him. His eyes darkened even more – if that were even possible when he saw that I wasn't wearing a bra.

"Fuck, Bella. You are going to be the death of me," he said before taking one breast in his mouth and kneading the other with his hand.

I moaned and arched my back when he started gently sucking my breast. In response, he started kneading faster and sucking harder. He switched breasts and my back was so arched that I was barely on the bed anymore.

I started toying with the lining of his black jeans. After a minute or two, I unbuttoned and unzipped his jeans. I pulled them down and he sighed in relief. He was massively hard and I couldn't imagine how uncomfortable it must have felt to have been constricted by tight jeans. I stroked him through his black boxers. He growled before kissing me. He started stroking me through my shorts. My hips started bucking against his hand. He moved my shorts to the side and started stroking me without any barriers.

"God, you are so wet for me," he said before plunging two fingers inside of me.

I practically came just then. His long, talented fingers seemed to know exactly what they were doing as they pumped in and out of me. I took his penis out of his boxers and started stroking him in time with his fingers. His fingers started curling trying to find my g-spot. After a minute he found it and my walls started clenching around his fingers. I started frantically pumping my hand up and down him because I was so close and I wanted to come together.

"Come for me, Bella," he said. "I want to feel you come around my fingers."

With his words, I came undone. Waves of pleasure rolled through me and my back arched into his chest. While watching my orgasm, Edward had his own orgasm. He came on my stomach. When we were coming down from our orgasm induced highs, he rolled off of me and adjusted us so that we were on our sides.

"That was…there are no words," I said breathlessly.

"I know exactly how you feel," he said, breathing heavily.

We sat in silence as we struggled to steady our breathing. It was a comfortable silence, which I found interesting after what we just did. Finally our heavy breathing subsided and we were breathing like normal.

I looked down and laughed lightly. He looked at me questioningly. "My stomach's all sticky," I told him.

He laughed with me and we both got out of the bed. I turned on the lights and we searched around for our clothes. He pulled on the black shirt and his boxers while I pulled my shorts on and grabbed my camisole.

"I'm going to go to the bathroom and clean myself off," I told him.

"Okay," he said with a slight smile.

I headed towards the bathroom. I noticed that Rosalie's door was opened slightly and I hoped that she didn't hear us; that would be a _very_ uncomfortable conversation.

I walked into the bathroom and turned the sink on. I grabbed a washcloth and stuck it under the faucet. I started washing my stomach off. I felt gross for thinking that I almost didn't want to wash myself off because it was a part of Edward. _God, I'm such a freak._

I finished washing myself off and looked at myself in the mirror. I laughed lightly at my reflection. My hair was all messed up, my eyes were huge and glossed over, my cheeks were flushed, and my lips were kiss swollen. I thought that I looked silly.

I walked back to my room where Edward was laying on my bed. His hands were behind his head and his legs were crossed. He looked so at ease that I couldn't help but smile to myself. I turned off the lights before walking over to my bed. I crawled into bed and Edward adjusted us so that we were spooning. His arm was draped over my waist

"Hey Bella?" he asked hesitantly.

I turned around to face him. "Yes, Edward," I said.

"I think that I'm ready to tell you about Tanya."


	15. Confessions

**A/N Holy crap! I think that everyday needs to be my birthday because you guys are awesome with your reviews! Thanks to luv4edwardcullen, lilquackers77, Bloody Ale, The TwilightTwin, edward5953, katierose127, and golden eyed vegetarian for reviewing. You guys motivated me to write another chapter, even though it's my birthday. You guys are good! :D**

**Disclaimer: Twilight isn't mine; Stephenie didn't give it to me. I think I'm going to cry…**

BPOV

"_I think I'm ready to tell you about Tanya."_

I felt my body tense up. I really wanted to know what happened, but I didn't want him to do something that he wasn't comfortable with. But Tanya was the reason why I refused to allow myself to fall in love with him.

"Are you sure?" I asked, cupping his face with my hand. "I know it's difficult for you to discuss, and I don't want you to do something that you don't want to do."

He sighed and said, "I'll never be comfortable talking about it, but I refuse to allow it to keep us from growing in our relationship."

I admired his courage, but was still apprehensive about hearing what happened. He took a deep breath and launched into the story.

"As you already know, I was a pre-med major at Northwestern for my freshman year. Every winter break, I would come up here and visit my family. I used to go to Scottie's regularly during those breaks. I loved that it was intimate and warm, and the coffee was incredible.

"I was ordering my coffee when I first saw her. She wore a white sweater and jeans. Her strawberry blonde curls bounced as she walked over to the counter and ordered a latte. We started talking while our drinks were being made. I enjoyed talking to her, so I invited her to drink with me. I was very happy when she accepted.

"We talked about the most random things. I felt comfortable and carefree with her. I really liked her, and I didn't want to loose touch, so we exchanged phone numbers before heading our separate ways.

"We would talk on the phone constantly. I know that it annoyed my family because I would leave them to talk to her. I was always either talking to her or I was talking to someone _about_ her. I was completely smitten with her.

"During the break, we went on a few more dates and continued talking on the phone. I used to sing and play the piano for her. She told me that I was very talented and that I should switch majors. She knew how unhappy I was with my classes, and she was the push that I needed to change my major.

"I was very sad to leave Forks because it would be very difficult to keep in touch. We promised to call each other on the weekends and send e-mails during the week.

"When the next semester started, I switched my classes to music classes. Carlisle was disappointed at first, but he got over it when he saw how much I was excelling at them and how happy they made me.

"I came to Forks for spring break. She told me to meet her at Scottie's because she had some exciting news to tell me. I met her there and she ran up to me and gave me a huge hug. She told me that she was going to Northwestern in the fall so that she could be with me.

"My life was going better than I thought was possible. I asked her to be my girlfriend and she accepted. I was on cloud nine. It was like nothing could go wrong for me; everything was perfect.

"We continued dating throughout college. I stayed an extra year because I had some classes I needed to take and I wanted to be able to graduate with her. I was completely in love with her."

He took another deep breath and I knew that the story was getting to the hard part. I rubbed his arm consolingly.

"We had been getting intimate for awhile. She was on the pill, so we never worried about condoms. Towards the end of our senior year, we stopped getting intimate. I wrote it off as we were busy studying for our exams, which was true.

"She came to my room not long before graduation and said that she had something that she needed to tell me. My mind jumped to the worst conclusions: she was breaking up with me, she had cancer or some other deathly disease, her parents had died, she was dropping out of school. I was terrified at what she was going to say."

His voice started getting shaky so he cleared his throat before continuing.

"She sat me down and told me that she was pregnant and that the child was mine. I was completely in shock because I never considered that as a possibility. The pills were said to be 99.9% effective, so I never worried about it.

"I told her that I would marry her and care for our unborn child. I was thinking of possible jobs that I could have to support them. I was thinking of every possible thing that I could do for her.

"She told me that there was something else. I demanded to know what it was. She told me that she had an abortion."

His eyes were filled with tears, as were mine. I couldn't imagine what could motivate somebody to kill their unborn child.

"I was a mix between furious, hurt, and in shock. My temper was the dominant emotion as I demanded to know why she did it. She told me that she didn't want a kid so young and she didn't want to get fat and have stretch marks. I was livid with her. That was _my_ child and she _murdered_ it for completely selfish reasons. The worst part was knowing that there was absolutely _nothing_ that I could do about it.

"I finally just stopped crying and yelling at her and just shut down. I stopped caring because I felt that I had nothing to live for. I had been deceived by the woman that I loved. I barely acknowledged her crying hysterically or her throwing herself at me. I was too busy being trapped inside my own mind. I wanted nothing more than to just end everything; I had nothing left to live for.

"I vaguely remember being driven in an ambulance to the ER. I refused to speak to any of the doctors because I didn't trust them; I didn't trust anybody anymore. My family came to see me while I was basically catatonic. They gave me words of comfort and love. They became my reason to live – especially Esme. She had already lost a daughter to a miscarriage after Alice was born. I couldn't bear to think what it would do to her if I killed myself.

"They took me home where I was still stuck in my vegetative state of being. Everybody used to check up on me, but Carlisle and Emmett eventually gave up. Esme and Alice would see me every day and whisper sweet nothings to me. Alice spent more time with me and our relationship started getting stronger. I started trusting her again with the passing months. I eventually told her what happened. Besides me and Tanya, and now you, she is the only other person who knows the whole story.

"She suggested that I do things that didn't make me think about her. I started helping Esme cook meals for the family. It made me feel good because I didn't think of her. I focused all my time and energy on cooking. It was helping me start to feel human again. I helped Esme on her television show, but I found that I didn't like the spotlight.

"A year later, she retired from her cooking show. She told me that teaching me made her realize that she loved teaching. Six months later, 'The Cullenary School' opened. She loved it, but she found that she needed an assistant. She asked me if I wanted to do it and I agreed to it. Turns out that was the best decision that I have made in a long time because it brought me to you."

I was completely in awe at his story. I was horrified at what she did and grateful for Alice and Esme in his life.

He smiled at me crookedly and I knew in that moment that I was in love with Edward Cullen.

"Edward," I started. "I am so very sorry that happened to you. Nobody deserves to have that happen to them and I hate that it happened to you. I want you to know that I will never hurt you like that. I will always be here for you because…" I couldn't bring myself to say those last three words.

His eyes grew extremely intense as he asked, "Because you what?"

I took a deep breath and looked him dead in the eye and said, "Because I love you, Edward."

His smile was breathtaking – literally. "Bella, I love you too. I've loved you since I first met you. I love you."

It felt really good to say how I felt, and I was sure that Edward felt the same way. We grinned at each other like fools. I leaned forward and kissed him. I put all my love for him into that kiss, and I could feel his love for me through his lips. We broke away only to smile at each other again.

"Would you like me to sing you to sleep?" he asked suddenly.

I was surprised that he wanted to. He just told me that performing music makes him think about Tanya and I didn't want to push him further than he could go.

"If you want to," I said not wanting to impose.

"Silly Bella," he said with a chuckle. "There's nothing that I don't want to do for you."

He started humming and I felt my eyelids drooping. I snuggled closer to him before succumbing to sleep.


	16. Confessions EPOV

**A/N Thanks to lilquackers77, luv4edwardcullen, and BabyJ91687 for reviewing, and a **_**very**_** special thanks to Bloody Ale for your ideas. I owe the future of this story to you, and I am forever grateful for you.**

**Disclaimer: Because Stephenie Meyer didn't give me her beloved series for my birthday, Twilight isn't mine. **

EPOV

I lay on her bed as she went to clean herself off and thought back to what we just did. Her orgasm face was the most beautiful thing that I had ever seen. Her full lips would open, her cheeks would flush, and her eyes would close as waves of pleasure overtook her body. And _I_ did that to her, I thought smugly.

I already knew that I loved her, but after what just happened, I knew that I was _completely_ in love with her. I had never come so hard in my life. It was like my body knew that she was the one, so everything we did was intensified. Now all I had left to do was to tell her how I felt.

But how _was_ I going to tell her? I still hadn't told her about what happened with Tanya. I knew that I couldn't tell her I loved her until she knew what happened. But I was scared to tell her. It still hurt to think about, let alone talk about. But she needs to know, so I'm going to suck it up and tell her.

She walked back in the room, looking stunning as usual. I was extremely nervous, but I sucked it up and got her attention. I think she sensed that something big was going to happen. I told her that I thought that I was ready to tell her about Tanya.

Her concern for me was very endearing; she didn't want me to do something that I wasn't ready for. I knew that I had no say in whether I was ready or not because I was going to implode if I didn't tell her how I felt.

I launched into the story and I knew that I had her undivided attention. She would never say it aloud, but she really wanted to know what happened. She rubbed my arm consolingly and it helped a lot. I did pretty well, until I got to the part where Tanya came to my room to tell me what she did. Bella seemed to notice this – she was incredibly intuitive – and she comforted me. I really appreciated that and I felt like I had fallen a little more in love with her.

I could see every flicker of emotion on her face. She started out compassionate with a hint of curiosity. I noticed that she got jealous when I was talking about things I did with her. When I told her what happened, she was a mix between horrified and enraged. I had no idea that she was going to tell me that she loved me.

I found myself completely forgetting the fact that I had just relived the darkest moment of my existence because she told me that she loved me. I told her that I loved her, too, and I felt the biggest sense of relief. I kissed her and tried to put all of my love for her into it. I felt her love as well and felt so happy. She loved _me_.

I asked her if she wanted me to sing her to sleep and I didn't anticipate her reaction. I realized that she thought that it would hurt me to sing. I laughed and told her that there wasn't _anything_ that I wouldn't do for her. Because I loved her.

I started composing a song – a lullaby – in my head. I started humming it to her and I liked how it sounded. It was a very sweet sounding song and it reminded me of Bella. She fell asleep after snuggling closer to me and I realized that it was _her_ song. It was Bella's Lullaby.

I continued adding harmonies and counterparts to the melody that I had hummed to her. I really liked how it sounded and I made sure to commit it to memory. I used the song to show my love for her without words. I knew that she would understand and enjoy it.

I replayed the song in my head a couple of times and I knew that it needed to be played on the piano. That would make Esme very happy; she loved to hear me play. It hurt her that I stopped playing and composing music. I thought about composing a song for Esme because I knew that she would love it.

I couldn't wait to tell her about what had happened tonight – minus the intimacy part. She would be so happy to see me happy. She really worried about me, even though she didn't know what had happened. It pained her to see me so happy. She really was the heart and soul of our family.

"Edward," I heard Bella say.

"Yes, my love?" I asked. I wasn't sure if she was trying to get my attention.

She sighed and snuggled closer to me. I put my arms around her securely and breathed her scent in. She smelled like strawberries, freesia, and sex. The smell was absolutely intoxicating.

"I love you," Bella said suddenly. I looked down at her and saw that she was still asleep. I smiled to myself with the knowledge that she thought about me while she slept. She really did love me.

"I love you, too," I told her. "You are my life now."

I wanted to play her lullaby for her this weekend when she came over. I was nervous to see her reaction, but I couldn't wait to play it for her.

I snuggled closer to her and allowed my eyelids to close. It didn't take long for me to fall asleep.

I woke up bright and early the next morning. I got out of her bed and surreptitiously went downstairs to make us some coffee. What I wasn't expecting was for someone to already be in the living room, looking smugly at me.

"Morning, Edward," the voice said with a knowing smile.

"Morning, Rosalie," I said. "I didn't realize that you would be awake so early."  
"Well, it was difficult to sleep with all the noise that you and Bella were making last night," she said, her smirk increasing on her face.

I was embarrassed that she heard us, but I wasn't embarrassed that we did it. It was the best night of my life.

"I'm sorry that we were so loud, Rosalie," I told her, putting on the old Cullen charm.

"Hey, I'm okay with it," she said. "It's about time that Bella got laid."

I smiled at her blunt words and she returned the smile. There was a semi-awkward silence between us, so I excused myself to go make some coffee.

I made the coffee as fast as I could. It was difficult because I didn't know where everything was. The coffee brewed quickly and I made Rosalie and myself a cup. I walked back to the living room. I handed her the cup and we drank silently. I could feel the caffeine working in my body.

"So, just out of curiosity, how did you get in here?" Rosalie asked suddenly.

"Do you know the tree in front of Bella's window?" I asked.

"You did not," she said disbelievingly. "Tell me you did not climb the tree and enter through her window."

I smiled and said, "Well, I could tell you that, but then I would be lying."

She smiled back at me and we continued chatting for a little while. Bella came down the stairs with her eyes all red and puffy.

"What's wrong, Bells?" Rosalie asked in concern. I was surprised at how worried she sounded about Bella; I didn't think that she was a compassionate person.

Bella looked at me and sighed. "I thought that he left me after what happened last night," she said sadly.

"I'm so sorry, Bella," I told her with as much emotion as I could, which was a lot at the moment. I felt horrible for making her think that I abandoned her. "I just came down here to get you some coffee." I got up and engulfed her into a hug. She responded immediately and held onto me tightly. "I would never leave you; I love you."

"I love you too," she said. "I'm sorry for overreacting and for not trusting that you would be here."

I pulled away from her and kissed her forehead. I walked into the kitchen to make her a cup of coffee. I handed her the cup and she looked grateful.

"I'm probably going to have to leave soon," I told her sadly. "I have to get ready for school."

"I know it's completely selfish, but I don't want you to go," she said.

"I don't want to leave either," I confessed. "But I will see you in an hour at school, though."

"This is true," she said with a weak smile. "Call me when you get home, though. I want to know that you got home safely."

"I will," I promised. "I love you, Bella."

"I love you, Edward," she said.

I kissed her passionately before walking towards the door. I turned around and stared at her longingly. She smiled at me and shooed me. I mouthed I love you before leaving her apartment and heading towards my car.

I was not looking forward to what was waiting for me at home.


	17. A Recipe for Disaster EPOV

**A/N So I really want to do the conversation between Rosalie and Bella, but I'm not sure if I want to do it as the next chapter or as an outtake. I would really like to know what you think. This story is as much for you as it is for me.**

**Thank you to lilquackers77, Alice-Rathbone-is-my-real-name, F21696, luv4edwardcullen, and Bloody Ale for your reviews. You guys help and motivate me so much and I love you all! :D**

**Disclaimer: Twilight is Stephenie Meyer's, but she allows people like me to play around with her characters, which is awesome!**

EPOV

I got into my Volvo and drove home. I spent a majority of the ride thinking about Bella and her lullaby. The closer I got to the house, the more apprehensive I became. Emmett would be ruthless and Alice would question me until I never wanted to speak ever again if they found out. I planned on sneaking into the house and praying that nobody saw me.

I pulled into our long driveway as quietly as possible. I went slowly – about 60 miles per hour – so that my car wouldn't alert the family. I didn't know if they knew that I was gone and if they were looking out for me.

I parked next to Alice and Emmett's vehicles. Carlisle must have the morning shift because his car wasn't there. Shit, I thought, he would've seen that my car was gone. I seriously hoped that he didn't alert the family of what I had done.

I got out and entered the house as if I were breaking in. I was quiet and stealthy as I made my way to the back door. I opened the door as quietly as possible. So far, so good.

"Boo!" I heard a booming voice yell and I jumped about twenty feet into the air.

"God damnit, Emmett," I said angrily. "You are going to wake people in China up if you don't shut up."

I tried getting away, but he grabbed my shoulder tightly as he bellowed a laugh.

"What has you sneaking in the house, Eddie boy?" Emmett asked me with a smirk.

I sighed and knew that it would be best to tell him the truth. "I was over at Bella's last night," I said.

He let go of my shoulder and clapped me hard on my back. It hurt, but I wasn't going to tell him.

"Eddie boy got him some good lovin' last night!" he sang while dancing slightly. "Eddie boy finally proved that he's a man!"

"Go play in traffic, Emmett," I said while shaking my head at him. I didn't deny what he said and he seemed to notice.

"Dude, seriously?" he asked incredulously. "Good man, brother. I'm proud of you."

Trust Emmett to only think about sex. I didn't bring up the fact that I told her about Tanya or that we declared our love for each other. He wasn't one to care about that kind of stuff. The man had the mind of a hormonal, seventeen-year-old boy.

I managed to shake him off and headed upstairs to get ready. I took a quick shower and went back to my room where Alice was waiting for me on my bed. Oh, God, I thought, here it comes.

"Well good morning, Edward," she said with a knowing smile. She knew everything that happened. It was like she was a psychic or something.

"Good morning, Alice," I said sheepishly.

"I came in her earlier to pick out an outfit for you," she told me. "Imagine my surprise when I found no one sleeping in the bed. Care to explain why that was?"

I knew that I would have to go into more details with Alice. I told her everything that happened from the moment I walked through her window to our goodbyes in the living room.

"Edward, I am so proud of you," she said as she hugged me. "You overcame your fears and allowed yourself and Bella to fall in love with each other. Things can only go up from here. I just _knew_ that you guys would work out."

I found myself smiling at her at her words. She really did care about me and wanted me to be happy. She smiled back at me before getting an outfit for me. She pulled out a black polo t-shirt and some khakis. She told me to wear a black belt and black shoes and to purposely mess up my hair before leaving. I didn't understand what that was all about, but I did what she said.

I went downstairs where Alice, Emmett, and Esme were sitting at the table. They were chatting happily while eating their food. I walked into the kitchen and made myself a plate of food before sitting down with them. They all smiled at me and I felt my face automatically turn into a smile. I noticed Alice give Esme a look, but I ignored it.

We laughed and joked while we ate our breakfast. It was the first time in a long time that I remembered being like this with my family. I couldn't stop smiling with them and participating with them. Before I knew it, we were all finished. I offered to do the dishes and everyone looked grateful. I washed the dishes before heading upstairs to brush my teeth.

After brushing my teeth, I looked at myself and barely recognized the face looking back at me. Sure, I knew that it was still me, but it was so different to the sullen mask that had been permanently plastered to my face. My eyes were bright, vibrant, and full of life. My mouth was set in a smile, which was slightly crooked. I relished in the thought that Bella was the one to change me.

I practically ran downstairs in my haste to get to school. I knew that the faster I got to school, the sooner I would get to see Bella again. I missed her smell, her blush, her smile, her eyes, her voice, her presence. I just missed her in general.

My family and I all got into my Volvo and drove towards the school. I smiled when I saw Rosalie's convertible in the parking lot. My smile grew larger when I saw Bella standing with Rosalie at the front of the car. I parked next to them and got out of the car. I put my arms around Bella, pulling her closer to me.

"I missed you," I whispered in her ear. I saw her shiver before she turned around to face me. I was still stunned by her beauty – inside and outside. She smiled at me before kissing me. I completely forgot that we had an audience until I heard my mother cough. We broke away and Bella blushed while I ran my fingers through my hair.

"…and I'm going to be at your table today," I heard Emmett telling Rosalie. I turned around to stare at him.

"Yeah, we figured this out earlier this morning," he told me. "You weren't there, so you had no say in where you went. I'm sorry, but you are stuck with Mike and Eric."

I felt the rage build in my body as I thought of spending the next few hours with that waste of human flesh otherwise known as Mike Newton. Bella forced me to look at her by grabbing my face with her small hands. I stared at her depthless brown eyes and saw the emotions she was feeling: love, admiration, and a hint of fear. I continued staring into her eyes and I felt myself calm down.

"I'm sorry, love," I told her apologetically. She grabbed my hand and kissed my cheek and I knew that I was forgiven.

We walked inside with our fingers locked. I ignored the stares that I felt while we walked. I refused to allow anybody to get under my skin today. I was too happy with Bella. We walked over to her table and I smiled at her. She smiled back at me and I kissed her forehead before walking to the front of the class. Esme addressed the class.

"When I came here yesterday, the cakes looked wonderful," she told them. "So today, we are going to put chocolate icing and fruit on our cakes before eating them. Today is meant to be an easy day before the weekend."

The class sounded glad at her words and we got to work. Bella gave me an understanding smile before I walked over to Mike's table. I tried ignoring him as best as I could, but it was more difficult than I thought.

I didn't want to be left sitting with Mike, so I had him get the icing, strawberries, and the cake. He looked pissed off, but I tried my best not to let it get to me. I chat with Eric briefly and he seemed pretty cool. A little nerdy, but not someone that I would have a difficult time conversing with.

Mike came back with a huge smirk on his face. I was confused, but then I saw Bella. She looked visibly shaken, even from across the classroom. I wanted to calm her down, but I wasn't allowed to leave the table. I was pissed off at him and demanded to know what he did.

"I didn't do anything," he said, looking at me condescendingly. I was so close to ripping his throat out that I was surprised that he had the audacity to look at me like that. I took some deep breaths and thought about Bella to calm down.

"Okay, so we're going to put two layers of chocolate icing around the cake and then put the strawberries on top," I instructed. Mike smirked at me and Eric nodded his head before getting to work. Eric put on the icing and Mike put the fruit on top. I had Eric go and get the plates and forks so that I could have a word with Mike.

"Listen Mike," I started. "I don't know what the hell kind of obsession you have with my girlfriend, but you are going to stay the hell away from her. If you go anywhere near her again, I will break you jaw. Is that clear?"

The little fucker had the nerve to smirk at me and not answer me. If we weren't at school, I would've inverted his face. I took my frustration out on the cake as I used the knife to cut out four pieces: one for me, one for Eric, one for Mike, and one for Esme. To grade the students, Esme was going to taste each of their cakes. I handed Eric his cake and practically threw Mike's cake at him. I took a bite and it was pretty good.

I found myself watching Bella the whole time. She was laughing with Rosalie and Emmett, who had the privilege of sitting with her. To say that I was jealous was a huge understatement. It literally pained me to be this close to her and not be able to talk to her, to touch her.

I had to remind myself to focus on my cake so that I didn't involuntarily go over there. The urge was overwhelming. I forced myself to start some small talk with Eric. I blatantly ignored Mike; I couldn't trust my self control enough to talk to him without punching him.

The class was finishing their cake, so I said a hasty goodbye before heading to the front of the class. I mouthed an 'I love you' to Bella and she mouthed it back. My face formed into a smile and she smiled back at me. The rest of my family made their way to the front of the class and Esme addressed the class.

"All of your cakes were wonderful," she told them. "It's apparent that we have true culinary talent in this class. I look forward to seeing you all next Monday."

Everybody started getting up and I practically ran to Bella. She smiled at me and hugged me. I was a little disappointed that she didn't kiss me, but I reminded myself for the hundredth time that we were in school.

"I'm proud of you," she said suddenly while we were walking out of the school hand in hand.

I looked at her confused and asked what she meant.

"You didn't attack Mike," she told me. "Even though he probably gave you reason to want to. I'm proud of the fact that you are starting to be able to control your temper."

I felt a little bad that she was proud of me because I did give him a pretty hefty ultimatum, but I wasn't going to tell her that. She would be disappointed in me and I didn't want that. I pulled our hands to my mouth and kissed it gently.

We got to our cars and I didn't want to part with her. She sensed this and hugged me securely. I whispered an 'I love you' in her ear and she whispered it back. I didn't think that I would ever get over the fact that she loved me.

"I'll call you when I get home," I told her before kissing her with as much passion that I could muster.

"Okay," she said. "I love you."

"I love you too," I said before begrudgingly getting into my car. I looked over and saw that we were right next to each other. I smiled at her and she smiled back. Unfortunately for me, Rosalie was the first one to back out. I backed out and started driving home. I drove even faster than I normally did because I couldn't wait to talk to Bella again.


	18. The Disarming of Edward's Self Control

**A/N WOW!!! That's all I can say to the overwhelming response that I got from last chapter. WOW!!! To thank you, I have included some dirty talking Bella – which is always fun. :P**

**Thanks to luv4edwardcullen, Bloody Ale, Alice-Rathbone-is-my-real-name, lilquackers77, F21496, and Aggie94 for reviewing, especially Aggie94 because she reviewed on a ton of chapters. I love you all so much. You have no idea how much your reviews brighten my day and motivate me to write.**

**Disclaimer: Twilight. Not mine. Enough said.**

BPOV

Edward and I got into our cars unhappily. Neither of us wanted to part with the other, but then we realized that we were right next to each other. We both smiled but then Rosalie, not noticing the silent conversation going on, backed out.

Noticing my anger, she said, "The sooner that we get home, the sooner that you can talk to him." She had a good point, so I let it go.

During the car ride, I allowed myself to think about class today. I was sad that Edward wasn't sitting with us, but I remembered that he was here because of a job, not for me. Emmett turned out to be wonderful, though. He eased the tension so easily with a couple of jokes. I found myself laughing harder than I had laughed in awhile. Everything was great until Mike came over to us.

"Your legs look great in those jeans," he said. "I can't wait until those pretty legs are wrapped around me." He left and grabbed the cake, icing, and strawberries.

I felt my body tense and my breathing speed up. Emmett, being the only person at the table, knew that I was freaking out, so he gave me a giant bear hug. It didn't scare me – it was like a hug from a big brother. I told him that and he declared me his little sister. We laughed and got back to work.

The cake was delicious. I couldn't help but think that it tasted so good because Edward helped make it. I rolled my eyes at myself because that was a very sappy thing to think.

We got to the apartment and went to the living room, which was starting to become a habit.

"Are you excited for your date tomorrow?" I asked her.

Her face immediately lit up as she said, "I can't wait. Emmett is great, and I've always wanted to go wine tasting."

"That's great," I told her sincerely. "I'm really happy for you."

"Yeah," she sighed. "It's funny how things have worked out for us. I'm so glad that I let you talk me into going into the Cullenary School. I can't imagine my life without Emmett."

Life really had changed for us since we started going to the Cullenary School. We had men in our lives and we were truly happy. I was becoming more bold and open and confident. Going to the Cullenary had helped my life in so many ways.

We continued chatting for a little while until both of our phones wrung at the same time. We smiled to each other, knowing who was on the other line.

"Hello?" we both asked simultaneously.

"Hello, love," Edward said. "How are you?"

"I'm pretty good," I told him. "I wish you were here, though."

"I know how you feel," he said. "The urge to come over there is overwhelming."

My voice dropped down to a seductive tone as I said, "Then why don't you come over here? I'm sure we can find _something_ to do."

I heard his breathing speed up as he said, "Bella, I swear that you will be the death of me."

"Well," I said seductively. "If you come over here, then I can fulfill your last requests. Assuming, of course, that they involve me."

"Bella," he said shakily. "Rosalie wouldn't like it very much if she heard us."

"Don't worry," I said. "I can be quiet."

"Have you forgotten that she heard us last night?" he asked. "She had a talk with me this morning that was excruciatingly embarrassing."

I blushed as I remembered her sitting me down and lecturing me. It was easily the most embarrassing moment of my entire life.

"You're right," I said, dropping the seductive voice. "That sucks, though, because there were lots of things that I wanted to do to you."

"What would you do if I were there?" he asked.

"I can't say it down here," I said. "Let me go upstairs, okay?"

I got up and headed towards my room. Rosalie winked at me and I rolled my eyes at her. I made my way to my room and got inside. I locked the door and threw myself on my bed.

"What would you do if I were there?" he repeated.

"Well, first I would throw you on the bed," I said confidently and as seductively as I was capable of. "Then I would crawl slowly towards you. When I reached you, I would devour your mouth. I would stick my tongue in your delicious mouth and caress your tongue with my own. I would rip your shirt off, revealing your gorgeous abs. I would trace my fingers lightly across your defined muscles and attack your mouth again. I would pull your hair lightly and your neck would be exposed to me. I would lick, bite and suck your neck. I would demand, in your ear, for you to tell me what you wanted before biting your ear. I would do whatever you wanted me to do. If you couldn't think of anything because you were too distracted by what I was doing to you, I would continue with what I was doing. I would lick your abs until I got to your pants. I would toy with the waistline, dipping my fingers underneath. After teasing you for a little bit, I would unbutton and unzip your pants. I would pull them, along with your boxers, to your ankles. I would straddle you and lick up your thigh until I got to your hip. I would do the same thing to the other thigh. I would lick your defined V a couple of times. I would get to your painfully erect cock and breathe on it. I would slowly take the head of your cock in and suck on it, swirling my tongue around it. I would slowly take you all the way in my mouth, deep-throating you. I would go up slowly before impaling your cock all the way. I would lightly use my teeth as I came back up and I would continue assaulting your cock. I would continue until you had the most mind-blowing orgasm in your entire life. You would spurt in my mouth and I would swallow and savor every drop you gave to me."

Edward's breathing was so loud by the end of my description of what I would do that I thought that he was going to pass out.

"Fuck it," he said, finally. "I'm coming over. I will be there in fifteen minutes."

He hung up the phone and I was incredibly proud of myself. I had disarmed the master of self control, and it felt _good_. I couldn't wait until he got here.

He was in for the most mind-blowing time of his entire life.


	19. A Bump Along the Way EPOV

**A/N The response to last chapter was encouraging. Thank you to luv4edwardcullen, F21496, lilquackers77, Bloody Ale, and Aggie94 for reviewing and a special thanks to lilquackers77 and Bloody Ale for helping me out. You two are freaking amazing and I really appreciate both of you.  
**

**Disclaimer: Twilight is not mine, which sucks for me. But at least Stephenie Meyer allows us to play around with the characters that we all know and love!**

EPOV

I drove home at illegal speeds because I really wanted to talk to Bella again. It was almost painful to be away from her and to not talk to her. I also felt like half of me was missing.

I snaked around our driveway and parked in the garage. I got out of the car and ran to the door. I unlocked the door and ran up to my room. I locked the door and lay on my bed. I dialed Bella's number and steadied my breathing.

"Hello?" I heard Bella ask.

"Hello, love," I said. "How are you?"

"I'm pretty good," she said. "I wish you were here, though."

"I know how you feel," I admitted. "The urge to come over there is overwhelming."

Her voice dropped to a deeper tone as she said, "Then why don't you come over here? I'm sure we can find _something_ to do."

My breathing pattern wasn't steady anymore as I said, "Bella, I swear that you will be the death of me."

"Well," she said her voice still seductive. "If you come over here then I can fulfill your last requests. Assuming, of course, that they involve me."

A part of my thought that it was silly that she didn't think that my last wishes would involve her, but the vast majority of my body was being affected by her words.

"Bella," I said, my voice shaking. "Rosalie wouldn't like it very much if she heard us."

Her voice rose back to her normal, innocent tone as she said, "You're right. That sucks, though, because there were lots of things that I wanted to do to you."

Her words and the innocent tone that she used while speaking them made my arousal that much harder.

"What would you do if I were there?" I asked her, curious as to what the answer was.

"I can't say it down here," she told me. "Let me go upstairs, okay?"

I was anxious to hear what she was going to say. I was still extremely aroused, and the urge to go over to her apartment was overwhelming. I heard the bed springs as she jumped onto her bed.

"What would you do if I were there?" I repeated.

I was not expecting what she told me. I already knew that Bella was one of the sexiest women I had ever had the fortune to meet, but I never would have expected that she would have said what she said. My breathing was erratic as I told her that I would be over there in fifteen minutes.

I ran downstairs and hoped that none of my family was there to question what I was doing. Fortunately for me, nobody was around. I figured that Emmett was still talking to Rosalie and Alice was talking to Jasper. Esme was probably in the library reading.

I got into the Volvo and drove at illegal speeds to her apartment. I was very excited to see her. I was about two minutes away when I heard sirens behind me. _Fuck_. RIP erection...

The man who walked out of the police car was vaguely familiar. He had russet colored skin and long black hair. He had black eyes and a kind face. He was tall and very muscular.

"I'm going to need to see your license, registration, and proof of insurance, sir," he said.

I pulled my license out of my wallet and my registration and proof of insurance out of the glove compartment and handed it to him. He walked back to your police car and entered the information. I waited impatiently for him to return; I _really_ wanted to get to Bella's apartment.

He returned and said, "Well, you have a perfect driving record, so I'm going to let you off with just a warning."

"Thank you, sir," I said very politely. "I'm not usually so careless. I'm just in a hurry to see my girlfriend, Bella."

"Wait a second," he said somewhat sternly. "Are you talking about Bella Swan?"

I tensed up in shock. How did this man know her? I was starting to get worried.

"Yes, sir," I said, not letting any emotion other then politeness show.

He smiled and said, "I used to work with her father, Charlie Swan, when I lived in Phoenix. My son Jacob had a thing for her, but she always hung out with my twin daughters. She always was a beautiful little girl. She was like the daughter that I had always wanted."

A couple of things clicked in my head. The first thing was that he knew Bella as a child. The second thing was that Bella used to live in Phoenix. The third was that this man was Jacob Black's father.

"Yeah, she's a really wonderful woman," I told him. "I'm completely in love with her."

"Well good for the two of you," he said genuinely. "Bella never was one to date much in Phoenix. She had plenty of guys pining after her, but she never showed an interest in any of them."

"I can picture that," I told him with a smile. "She is a beautiful, intelligent woman and I don't understand why she chose me, but I couldn't be happier."

"You seem like a good kid," he said. "But if you ever hurt her, I know people that can kill you and make it so your body is never found."

I would be lying if I said that I wasn't scared. I didn't have a doubt that he _could_ do that. I gulped audibly.

"I promise that I will do everything in my power to keep her happy," I said as firmly as I was capable. The man was intimidating.

"Good man," he said. "I'll let you get back to her. I'm sure she's waiting for you. Next time, keep your car under 100 mph, okay?"

"Yes, sir," I said. "And thank you; for everything."

"My pleasure," he said before walking back to his car.

I pulled out my phone and called Bella. I hoped that she didn't think that I wasn't coming over. She answered on the third ring.

"Edward?" she asked somewhat frantically.

"Bella, I am so sorry," I told her. "I got pulled over by Jacob Black's father."

"You mean Billy?" she asked excitedly. "God, I haven't seen him in forever!"

"Yeah, he really loves you," I told her.

"He was like a second father to me in Phoenix," she said. "He would always keep the boys away from me." She let out a laugh.

"He seems to recall differently," I told her. "Something about how all the boys were pining after you, but you didn't show any interest in them."

"Billy is silly," she said. "I think his old age has made him decrepit. So when will you be here?"

"I am very close," I informed her. "About two minutes away. Do you want me to come through the front door or through the tree?"

"I'm sorry, but I think the tree is probably the best bet," she said.

"Why are you apologizing?" I asked.

"Well, I'm sure that climbing a tree is painful and not a lot of fun," she said. She wasn't untrue.

"It's worth it if I get to see you," I told her. "There isn't anything that I wouldn't do for you."

"God, I love you," she said. It still made my heart fly to hear her say that she loved me.

"I love you, too," I said. "I will see you very soon, okay?"

Her voice dropped deeper and she said, "I'll be waiting."

I disconnected the phone and shook my head. I needed to concentrate on getting there and not think about ravishing her body.

I pulled back onto the road and drove to her apartment at the speed limit. I decided to park down the road in case Rosalie looked outside. I didn't think she knew that I was coming over.

I walked to her tree and climbed up it. I was sure, with time, I would get better at it. I tapped on the window and gasped at what I saw.


	20. Bella's Inner Sex Goddess

**A/N The response to last chapter wasn't what I expected it to be. That made me less excited to update. Fortunately for those who don't review, luv4edwardcullen, lilquackers77, Bloody Ale, and F21496 did, so I wrote a lemon.**

**Disclaimer: In my ideal world, I would own Twilight. However, in the real world, it belongs to the wonderful Stephenie Meyer. I hate reality.**

BPOV

I got off the phone with Edward excited and proud of myself. I had disarmed Edward's self control. I wanted to drive him insane and there was only one person that I knew who could help me with that.

"Rosalie?" I asked when I found her downstairs. "I need you to help me with something."

"What's wrong, honey?" she asked with concern.

"There's nothing wrong," I told her. "I just need your help with something. Do you want to play Bella Barbie?"

I prepared myself for the squeal that I knew was going to come from her mouth. Rosalie definitely didn't disappoint.

"What's the occasion?" she asked.

"Well, I did what you told me to do," I said. "I was confident and honest and he _loved_ it. He's coming over in fifteen minutes and I want to do something to spice things up a little bit if you know what I mean."

"Who are you and what have you done with my best friend?" she asked. "I'm so proud of you, Bells. You have released your inner sex goddess and she's hot. I'm going to make our little Eddie boy beg for you."

We made our way to her room and she told me to sit down on her bed. She went over to her dresser and pulled out a few items of lingerie and showed them to me. Some of them showed more skin than I was comfortable showing just yet, but there was a white baby doll that I loved.

"That's the one," I told her. "It's perfect for me."

"You're right," she said. "Pair it with a white thong. There are some in my dresser. I have a limited amount of time to make you perfect."

I put on the outfit and walked to Rosalie who was putting out makeup. I tapped her shoulder so that she would acknowledge me.

"Oh, my God," she gasped. "You look fucking hot, Bella!"

Knowing that Rosalie would never lie just to make me feel better about myself, I smiled at her compliment.

She put on a light blue eye shadow, mascara, eyeliner, and pink lip gloss. I looked at myself and liked what I saw. Suddenly my phone started ringing.

"Edward?" I asked a little frantically because I wasn't ready.

"Bella, I am so sorry," he said. I had no idea what he was apologizing for.

"I got pulled over by Jacob Black's father," he continued.

"You mean Billy?" I said excitedly. I loved Billy; he was always so good to me. "God, I haven't seen him in forever."

"Yeah, he really loves you," he told me.

"He was like a second father to me in Phoenix," I said. "He would always keep the boys away from me." I let out a laugh as I thought back to my life in Phoenix.

"He seems to recall differently," he said. "Something about how all the boys were pining after you, but you didn't show any interest in them."

I rolled my eyes at the absurdity of his words. "Billy is silly," I said. "I think that his old age has made him decrepit. So when will you be here?"

"I'm very close," he said. "About two minutes away. Do you want me to come through the front door or through the tree?"

"I'm sorry, but I think the tree is the best bet," I told him. I felt bad that he had to climb up a tree. I would never be able to do it; I would probably get stuck.

"Why are you apologizing?" he asked.

"Well, I'm sure that climbing a tree is painful and not a lot of fun," I said.

"It's worth it if I get to see you," he said. That was the sweetest thing that anyone had said to me.

"God, I love you," I said.

"I love you, too," he said. "I will see you very soon."

To remind him why he was so eager to get over here, I dropped my voice to a seductive tone. "I'll be waiting," I said before he disconnected the phone.

"Okay, he will be here soon," I said to Rosalie. "What should I do?"

She thought about it and said, "You should probably get to your room. I think that you should open the window in your outfit. He will go crazy with his horniness and it'll be great."

"Thank you so much, Rose," I said. "For everything, really. You really are the most amazing friend a girl could have."

I gave her a huge hug before walking to my room. I had just barely got situated when I saw him walking towards my apartment. He looked gorgeous in his black polo and khakis. His hair was even messier than usual and I couldn't wait to ravish him.

He climbed up the tree and I saw his jaw drop as he took in my apparel. I opened the window and smiled at him as if I was wearing ratty old sweats. He swung back and forth before landing in my room. There was still a light thud, but it wasn't as bad as it was yesterday.

He closed the distance easily and attacked my mouth with his own. I moaned at this new, aggressive side of Edward. It was hot as hell.

He forced my mouth open and thrust his tongue into my mouth. Our tongues battled for dominance and mine won. I plunged into his mouth, taking in his taste. I knew I would never get enough of it. I would always crave it; it was like a drug to me.

My arms wrapped around his neck and his arms latched around my waist, pulling me closer. I unhooked my hands from his neck and pushed him on my bed. His arms, still wrapped around my waist, pulled me with him. He let go of me and I straddled his waist.

I attacked his mouth aggressively. He responded immediately and he licked my bottom lip, silently asking if he could deepen the kiss again. I allowed him to plunge into my mouth.

He rolled us over so that he was on top of me. His arms were caging me beneath him, as if I wanted to get away. I couldn't think of any other place I'd rather be than right here, with him.

He broke away and started kissing at my neck. I moaned when he got to the part where my neck met my shoulder. Realizing that this was a sensitive spot for me, he bit lightly. The moan that emitted from me was embarrassingly loud. Wanting to torture him, I rolled us over so that I was on top of him again. I straddled his hips and attacked his mouth again.

I broke away to take off his shirt. He lifted his arms to help me get it off of him. I was still in awe at his defined muscles. I kissed my way down his chest and traced his muscles with my tongue. He hissed at the feeling and I felt him hardening under me. The fact that I was making him feel this way made me wet. I stroked him through his jeans and his cock twitched.

"God, Bella," he groaned. "I want you so badly."

"Then why don't you take me?" I asked seductively.

Suddenly, I was once again on my back. His tongue entered my mouth and I latched my lips around his tongue. I sucked it gently and he groaned lightly. Loving the sounds I was making him have, I grazed my teeth on his tongue.

"Bella," he moaned. I felt myself get wetter hearing him say my name like that. I was hoping to hear it many more times.

We continued our assault on each other's mouths. He started playing with the lining of my baby doll. He started pushing it up and I arched my back to help him get it off of me. He brought his mouth to my right breast and used his tongue to circle my nipple. I moaned as he started sucking gently. His hand teased my other breast.

While Edward was focusing on my breasts, I used my hands to trace down his abs. My fingers unbuckled his belt and unbuttoned his pants. Edward started kissing down my stomach as I unzipped his pants. I pulled his pants and boxers down in one swift movement. He pulled my thong down and started teasing me. I took his cock in my hands and squeezed lightly.

"What do you want me to do?" I asked him seductively, looking him in the eyes and biting my lip.

"I want you to turn around so your pussy is in my face," he said, his voice deeper with his arousal. "I want to lick at your glorious pussy until you cum all over my face."

I moaned at his words and flipped us so that I was on top of him. I turned myself so that my mouth was directly over his cock. I gave licked from his pelvic bone to the tip and smiled to myself when I felt his muscles flex underneath me.

Edward retaliated by licking my pussy from top to bottom. I felt my body instinctively writhe against him. I took the head of his dick in my mouth and swirled my tongue around it. I raised myself on my wrists so that I could take him all the way in my mouth. We continued tasting each other; pleasuring each other. I felt my orgasm building inside of me. I started used my teeth randomly and loved feeling his reaction. He took my clit in his mouth and began sucking it gently. He bit down on it lightly and I felt my body loose control. My walls were spazzing around his tongue as waves of pleasure took over my body. I moaned with him in the back of my throat and the vibrations were enough to bring him over the edge with me.

We both came down from our orgasms and I rolled off of him. We lay on our sides, catching our breath and smiling like fools.

"I love you, Bella," he said before closing his eyes.

"I love you, too," I said as I closed my own.

Life was very good right about now.


	21. Escaping Reality

**A/N You are all a bunch of horn dogs, you know that? But I love each and every one of you for it! **

**Thank you to Bloody Ale, lilquackers77, edward5953, and F21496 for reviewing. You are completely wonderful and I love you. :D**

**It kind of makes my life that I have 69 reviews after the chapter where Bella and Edward 69. It was really amazing. Thank you for those who have helped me accomplish this.**

**Disclaimer: If I had three wishes, one would be that Edward Cullen was real. The second one would be that I owned Twilight. The third wish would be that I could be forever frozen at seventeen. Sadly, none of these things will happen in my life.**

BPOV

We lay in my bed after we came down from our orgasm induced highs. I had never cum so hard in my life, and I knew that it was because I was in love with Edward.

I started thinking about when we would actually have sex. I felt myself getting wet again just thinking about how his giant cock would feel inside of me. I knew I was ready; Edward was the one for me. I had messed around with guys before, but I was still a virgin. I wanted to give it to him so badly.

"Edward?" I asked, grabbing his hand.

"Yes, love?" He asked, squeezing our hands slightly.

"I'm not entirely sure how to bring this up," I said. "So I'm just going to go with the blunt approach. When are we going to have sex?"

I felt him freeze with shock and I was horrified that I had done something wrong. Maybe he didn't want to have sex with me. I felt all of my newfound confidence go down the drain and I looked down at our hands; he hadn't let go of me.

"Bella," he said. "You know that I love you. I just don't think that I'm ready just yet for sex. I still haven't gotten over what Tanya did. I'm just scared."

I started getting angry and my eyes pooled with moisture. "Scared of what?" I asked angrily, looking into his sad, green eyes. "That I'm going to do what Tanya did? Do you seriously think that I would do that to you?"

"I can't be positive that you wouldn't," he said quietly.

"So you don't trust me?" I almost yelled at him. I yanked my hand out of his and got out of my bed. "You seriously think that I'm so shallow that I would _murder_ an innocent child – our innocent child – because I don't want to get fat? You think that I would kill a child that was made out of _love?_ I'm glad to know that you think so little of me, Edward!"

He didn't even say anything to me. He just stared at me with tears in his eyes. Part of me wanted to go back over to him and console him. The other part – also the most dominant part – wanted to yell at him.

I walked over to my closet and angrily pulled a pair of jeans and a white t-shirt. I walked to my dresser and pulled out a white bra and panty set. I pulled them onto me and walked back to Edward.

He was still sitting there, staring at where I was standing earlier. I couldn't imagine what could possibly be going through his head at the moment.

"So you have _nothing_ to say to me?" I asked with my hands on my hips. "You're just going to sit there and do nothing?"

I waited for his answer and I still got nothing. I was beyond pissed off; I was furious.

"Fuck you, Edward Anthony Masen Cullen!" I said before stomping towards my door. I slammed it shut and ran downstairs.

I ran downstairs and grabbed my keys before heading outside. I turned off my phone and got in my truck and turned it on. The engine rumbled to life and I pulled out of the driveway. I didn't know where I was driving, but I knew that I needed to get away from my apartment.

I continued driving until I found myself in La Push. There was a beach there where I liked to sit and relax and escape reality. I parked in a parking spot and walked over to the rocks there.

I don't know long I had been sitting there, but I felt a body sit next to me. I turned and saw the face of Jacob Black smiling at me. He was just the person that I needed to talk to.

"Hey Jacob," I said, trying my best to smile enthusiastically. He and I never really hung out much when we lived in Phoenix, but I remembered him being really nice and compassionate.

"Hey Bella," he said. "What brings you to La Push?"

"I just needed a place to get away from it all," I said. "Reality really sucks sometimes."

"Do you want to talk about it?" he asked.

I thought about it for a second. Jacob's face held nothing but concern for me, so I decided that I would tell him. I took a deep breath before starting.

"I'm sure that you already know this, but Edward and I have been dating," I started. He nodded his head, knowing that we were dating. "He opened up to me about his past and it brought us closer. We started getting intimate, but never actually having sex. I wanted to have sex with him because I thought that he was the one for me. I thought that he trusted me and loved me but I was wrong. He told me that he doesn't want to because he's scared that I will hurt him."

I felt his strong arms latch around me and I felt comfortable. He was so warm and I felt myself clinging closer to him.

"I am so incredibly sorry, Bella," he said sincerely while stroking my hair. "He doesn't realize what a wonderful thing that he has. You are a genuinely good person who is smart and beautiful. If he doesn't realize this, then he doesn't deserve you."

I was so touched by his words. He seemed so genuine with his words that I couldn't help but smile with him.

"Thank you, Jake," I said. "You don't mind if I call you that, do you?"

"Of course not," he said with a huge smile. "I actually like it; Bella and Jake. It makes me feel like Bonnie and Clyde. Minus the whole dying thing."  
I laughed with him and I felt myself completely forgetting all the drama waiting for me back home.

We continued chatting until my stomach started growling loudly.

"Would you like to get some dinner?" he asked. "We can go to my place and you could see Billy again."

I pretended to think about it. "Now you know I can't resist an offer like that," I said with a smile.

He took my hand and walked me to my car. A part of me felt guilty for holding another man's hand, but Jacob felt like a younger brother. It just felt natural to be holding his hand.

We got to my truck and he started laughing suddenly. I looked at him questioningly and he said, "This thing is older than Billy."

I scowled and said, "Don't diss my truck; it has charisma."

He held his hand out for the keys and I dropped them in his hand. He walked over to the driver's seat and I walked over to the passenger's seat. He stuck the keys in the ignition and jumped at the loud noise it made.

"You could wake people up in Canada with the loudness of this engine," he said. "I could fix it for you; I'm really good with cars."

"Seriously?" I asked excitedly. "That would be amazing, Jake! Thank you so much!"

He rolled his eyes and said, "It's nothing, Bellie. You don't mind if I call you that, do you?"

"Of course not," I mimicked him. "I actually like it; Jake and Bellie. But you're the only person that is allowed to call me that, okay?"

"Sure, sure," he said with a smile.

We continued chatting until we got to Jacob's house. It was a small, wooden house that was painted a dull red. It had narrow window and resembled a barn.

We got out and Jacob grabbed my hand again. We walked to his door and he opened the door.

"Hey dad?" he called out. "Look who stopped by!"

Billy walked out of the living room and gasped when he saw me. I gave him a smile and ran towards him to give him a hug. He hugged me back enthusiastically. He pulled away to take a look at me.

"It's good to see you, Bella," he said as he looked me over. "You look beautiful as always."

I blushed at his compliment. "Thank you," I told him. "I really missed you, Billy."

"We missed you too, Bella," he said. "Are you staying for dinner?"

"Jake invited me, but I won't stay if you don't want me to," I said.

"Are you kidding?" he asked. "We would love to have you over. We have to catch up on the past five years."

We walked into the living room and I sat on the small couch with Jake while Billy sat on the large chair to the left of the couch.

"Harry Clearwater brought over some of his famous fish fry while you were gone, so I was planning on heating that up," he said. "Is that okay with you, Bella?"

"Anything sounds good to me right now," I told him honestly. "I am starving. Can I help at all?"

Billy and Jacob both rolled their eyes at me. "Bella, we're just putting the fish in the microwave. I think I can handle it," Billy said with a smile. He got up and went to the kitchen, leaving Jacob in the living room alone.

"I was wondering if I could show you my garage after dinner," Jacob said. "I've been working on a Volkswagen Rabbit that I want to show you."

"I would like that," I said truthfully. I wanted to see Jacob's work first hand before I entrusted my baby to him.

Billy walked in the living room a few minutes later with three plates with fish fry. He handed Jacob and me a plate and I eagerly ate it. It was delicious.

"You have to give me the recipe for this," I told them. "This is incredible!"

"Harry will be very happy to hear that," Billy said. "You should come over tomorrow and get it. We really did miss you."

Part of me wanted to say yes, but then I remembered that I was supposed to go to Edward's house. Was that still happening since we had fought earlier? Or rather, I fought with him and he sat there.

"I'll think about it," I said. "I might have something going on tomorrow. Why don't you give me your number and I'll call you when I figure it out."

Jacob sent me a sympathetic look, knowing what I was talking about. I turned on my phone and gasped at what I saw.

45 missed calls. 20 text messages. 13 voicemail messages. Holy. Crap.

I exited out of everything and pulled up my phone book. Jacob gave me his home and cell phone numbers and I saved them.

"Are we still going to the garage?" Jacob asked.

"Yeah," I said. "Let's go."

We walked to the garage which looked like three shacks that had the walls knocked out. It was nothing spectacular, but the car that was inside was.

"Wow, Jake," I said in awe. "This is incredible."

The Rabbit was painted black and had tinted windows. The car screamed cool when you looked at it.

"Thank you," he said. "I built it from scratch. I found pieces at the dump and used them to build this baby. I had to save up for the parts that I couldn't find."

"Wait," I said. "You built this _yourself_? Your coolness factor just went up like a million points."

"Good to know," he said. "So is it Jake: one million, Bellie: zero on the coolness scale?"

I whacked him on the arm and said, "No. I think that you've lost half of your coolness and your score got added to mine. So it's Jake: 500,000, Bellie: 500,000."

"Okay, okay," he said while rubbing his arm. "You sure know how to punch. That's going to leave a mark."

"Well, you can't grow up being the chief of police's daughter and not know how to punch," I told him. "That's just sacrilegious."

He laughed at me and I found myself laughing too. We chat until I heard my phone go off. I didn't want to answer it, but I knew that I had to.

"Hello?" I asked in a small voice.

"Isabella Marie Swan where the hell are you?!" Rosalie's voice yelled at me. I had to hold the phone a few feet from my head.

"I'm in La Push with Jake," I said. Jacob gave me a small smile.

"Who the hell is Jake?" she yelled.

"He's Billy's son," I said. "He also goes to school with us."

"Well, you need to get your ass over here immediately!" she shouted at me. "I am so mad at you right now I can barely concentrate. Bye."

She hung up the phone and I sighed. I really didn't want to go home. I wanted to stay here with Jacob, but I knew that I needed to get home.

"I'm really sorry, Jake," I said sadly. "I really don't want to leave you, but I have to. Do you want me to call you later?"

"That would be cool," he said while looking just as sad as I felt. "I'll see you around."

I gave him a big hug before heading towards my truck. I got in and waved half heartedly towards Jacob. He waved back and I backed out of his driveway.

I was not looking forward to dealing with my problems.


	22. Facing Reality: EPOV and BPOV

**A/N So I'm very pleased with the response from last chapter. It was my favorite chapter to write so far, so it makes me happy that you all liked it.**

**Thanks to Aggie94, lilquackers77, Bloody Ale, and F21496 for reviewing. You have no idea how happy it makes me to hear what you have to say about my story.**

**This chapter is both EPOV and BPOV. Please let me know if you like it, or if you prefer what I've been doing.**

**Disclaimer: Twilight isn't mine. I wish it was, but it's not. :'(**

EPOV

Bella and I lay on her bed after we came back to reality. I struggled to calm down my erratic breathing.

"Edward?" Bella asked while grabbing my hand.

"Yes, love?" I responded, giving our hands a loving squeeze.

"I'm not entirely sure how to bring this up, so I'm just going to go with the blunt approach," she said. "When are we going to have sex?"

My body froze as I processed her words. I didn't think that I was ready for that step yet. I knew that I loved her; that was obvious to anyone who saw us. I just wasn't completely over what Tanya did to me.

"Bella, you know that I love you," I said. "I just don't think that I'm ready just yet for sex. I'm just scared."

I saw tears build up in her eyes and I knew that I had said the wrong thing.

"Scared of what?" she asked angrily. "That I'm going to do what Tanya did? Do you seriously think that I would do that to you?"

"I can't be positive that you wouldn't," I said quietly, hoping that she wouldn't hear. Unfortunately for me, she did.

She yanked her hand out of mine and got out of the bed. "So you don't trust me?" she practically yelled at me. "You seriously think that I'm so shallow that I would _murder_ an innocent child – our innocent child – because I don't want to get fat? You think that I would kill a child that was made out of _love_? I'm glad to know that you think so little of me, Edward!"

My eyes pooled with moisture as I took in her words. There were so many things that I wanted to say to her. I wanted to tell her that I was sorry about what I had said. I wanted to say that I didn't mean it. I wanted to say that I loved her. I wanted to tell her that I wanted to make love to her.

I thought about how I felt after Tanya told me what she did. The pain of knowing that I would never get to see my unborn child. That I would never hear it talk. That I would never see it look up at me with loving, adoring eyes. That I would never hear its first words or see it walk for the first time. That I would never get to take it to its first day of school. That I would never get to see it grow up and accomplish things in its life. That I would never see it fall in love and get married and have children.

I struggled to get my thoughts together so I could say something to her. My thoughts were so jumbled that I could barely distinguish one thought from another. It was like there were hundreds of voices in my head shouting at me.

She left me while I sat there, lost in my own thoughts. She came back carrying jeans and a white t-shirt. She pulled out the undergarments that she needed and put them on. She finished dressing herself and walked back to me.

"So you have _nothing_ to say to me?" she yelled with her hands on her hips. "You're just going to sit there and do nothing?"

I still couldn't make my mouth form words. I just stared at her, making her even madder.

"Fuck you, Edward Anthony Masen Cullen!" she shrieked before walking towards her door. She slammed it shut and I heard her stomp down the stairs.

I had no idea how long I sat on her bed, lost inside my own mind. I couldn't stop myself from thinking that everything that I loved turned to crap. And it was all my fault.

I eventually got out of her bed and put on my clothes. I climbed out of her window and down her tree. I walked to my car and got inside of it. I called the first person that I could think to call.

"Hello?" the voice answered on the fourth ring.

"Alice," I said, grateful that she picked up. "I really need your help."

"What's wrong, Edward?" she asked with concern in her voice.

"I messed up," I told her. "I really messed things up with Bella."

"Hang on just a second," she said. "Jasper is on the other line. Let me tell him that I need to call him later."

She clicked over to the other line. I tried clearing my head unsuccessfully. She clicked back over to me.

"Sorry about that," she said. "What happened?"

I took a deep breath and told her everything that happened. I told her everything that happened from the moment I got into her window to the moment that she left me.

"I am so sorry, Edward," she said. "I know that what happened with Tanya is very difficult for you to deal with. But you're going to have to get over it sometime soon. It is holding your relationship with Bella back. Your relationship is never going to be where it needs to be if you keep letting Tanya get in the way. It's not fair to Bella for you to tease her by messing around with her, but not actually make love. I'm going to tell you something that I don't think that you know: Bella is not a very self confident woman. She doesn't understand what a beautiful person she is. I think that by you not wanting to make love with her made her feel like you didn't want her that way. That's why she exploded like she did."

I took in what she said to me. It shocked me that Alice thought that Bella wasn't confident in herself. Bella was probably the most sexy, confident woman that I ever had the pleasure to encounter in my life. She had a stunning face and an amazing body that was absolutely perfect. I disagreed with Alice on that point.

But she made a lot of valid points. I needed to get over what happened to me. It really was holding the two of us back in our relationship. Bella would probably tire of me if I couldn't satisfy her in the way that she wanted and deserved to be satisfied.

"You're right," I finally said. "You're absolutely right, Alice. But what can I do to make this right? I can't loose her; I need her. I don't feel whole without her."

"Well," she said. "I think the least you could do is call her. Bella's hurt right now and needs to be loved and told that she's beautiful. I think that you should get into therapy so that you can completely get over what happened to you. I think that you should do something special for her like give her a massage or play the piano for her. Something that is from the heart that shows her that you really do love her."

I knew exactly what I was going to do. This weekend, when she came over, I was going to give her the most luxurious, relaxing, loving time of her life. I would have to set some things up, but I had now problem with doing it. I loved her more than my own life.

"Thank you, Alice," I said sincerely. "I know exactly what I'm going to do. You have been amazingly helpful and I am forever grateful."

"Your welcome," she said and I could hear the smile in her voice. "Now go out there and make things right. I love you, Edward."

"I love you, too," I said before disconnecting the phone.

I needed to get home and start planning for tomorrow.

BPOV

I left Jacob's house a mix between happy and sad. I was happy that I got to see Billy again and that I discovered how great of a friend Jacob really was. I would stay there all day if I could. I was sad because I didn't want to face reality. I liked that I didn't have to deal with my problems with Jacob. Things were just easy with him.

I thought about the angry conversation that was going to happen between Rosalie and me. She has been known to say some things that are hurtful but true. I didn't want to deal with that.

I drove to the apartment and wasn't surprised to see Rosalie standing outside, ready to ambush me. I took a few deep breaths before opening the door.

"What the hell were you thinking?!" Rosalie yelled at me the second I closed the door.

"It's good to see you, too," I said sarcastically.

I started walking towards the door, hoping that if I got away from her, I wouldn't have to deal with her.

"Where do you think that you are going, Isabella Swan?" she asked.

"Upstairs to my room, Mom," I told her. "Is that okay?"

I opened the door and ran upstairs hoping to outrun her. Unfortunately for me, Rosalie is very fast when she wants to be and she caught up with me.

"You can't get away from me," she said. "You can't just run away from your problems. You have to grow up and face them like the fucking adult you're supposed to be."

I sat down on my bed and curled up into a ball. I pulled my knees to my chest and wrapped my arms around them and rested my head on my arms.

"What were you thinking?" Rosalie repeated herself. "How could you just leave like that? We were freaking out over you, Bella!"

I didn't miss the plural there. I didn't want to think about Edward right now, so I answered her questions.

"I wasn't thinking," I told her honestly. "I just felt like I needed to get away from everything. I went down to First Beach where I ran into Jake. He invited me to dinner and we hung out in his garage. I was completely safe; there was no need for you to worry about me."

"It's not just that you left without telling anyone," she said. "I'm mostly angry with you because you turned off your phone. Everyone was calling you and no one could get a hold of you. It didn't help that Alice called me telling me that Edward had a break down on the phone."

I was completely disarmed by that last statement. Edward had a break down? What happened?

"What do you mean that Edward had a break down?" I demanded.

"Alice wouldn't tell me everything," she said. "She just said that he was afraid that he was going to loose you and that he couldn't deal with the thought of loosing you."

I felt completely guilty. I had made him freak out over nothing. I was willing to admit that I had overreacted earlier. It was obvious that I needed to call him.

"I'm sorry, Rose," I said. "I didn't mean to make you freak out and I promise to never do it again. I will let you know when I'm going to storm off like that and keep my phone on."

"Thank you," she said. "You know, I really do love and care for you, Bella. Don't ever do that to me again."

"I won't," I said before engulfing her in a hug. "I love you, too, Rose. Thank you for being such a good friend to me. I don't know what I would do without you."

We let go of each other and she smiled at me.

"You'd be completely lost without me and my wonderful advice," she said. I smiled with her.

"This is true," I said. "Well, it looks like I have an apologetic phone call to make."

"Good luck," she said before leaving my room.

I took a deep breath and dialed the number that I was most afraid to dial.

"Bella?" the voice asked.


	23. Making Up

**A/N This is just a light, fluffy chapter to thank those of you who reviewed. It's not much, but it's a little thing to show my appreciation.**

**Thanks to edward5953, Ri40, F21496, lilquackers77, Aggie94, and Bloody Ale. I loved the positive feedback you gave me. A special thanks to Aggie94 for giving me an idea and to lilquackers77 because she gave my story a shout out on her profile. You guys brighten my day so much and I love you guys. (Insert group "Aww" here.)**

**Disclaimer: As usual, Twilight isn't mine. **

BPOV

"_Bella?" the voice asked._

"Hey, Edward," I said tentatively. "Listen I –"

"I am so sorry, Bella," he interrupted quickly. "I feel like such an idiot for making you believe that I didn't trust you. Of course I do; I love you. I just wasn't expecting your question and my mind just freaked out."

"I appreciate that," I told him honestly. "But you weren't the only one at fault. I definitely overreacted and I'm sorry. I'm also sorry that I stormed off and turned off my phone. I was safe, but you had no way of knowing that."

"I'm not going to lie and say that I wasn't worried," he said. "But I trusted that you wouldn't do something stupid or get yourself hurt."

"Well thank you," I said. I was happy that he _did _trust me.

"I also enrolled myself in counseling so that I can get over what happened between Tanya and me. I refuse to allow that to come between us. I love you too damn much to allow that."

"I'm proud of you," I told him. I really was proud of him. It took a lot of courage for him to do that. "I'm sure that it wasn't easy for you to do. When is your first appointment?"

"It's actually tomorrow from nine until ten thirty," he said. "I was wondering if maybe you could come over around noon instead. That way I can make sure everything is all set up. I have a surprise for you."

"I hate surprises," I groaned. "I've never liked them and I never will."

"I think that you're going to like this, though," he said. He didn't say anything.

"You're not going to elaborate, are you," I accused.

"Nope," he said. "Anyway, are you okay with the time switch?"

"Yeah, of course," I said. "I actually had something that I wanted to do so that works out perfectly."

"You're not going to elaborate, are you," he mimicked me.

"Nope," I said with a smile. "Hey, are you coming over tonight?"

"If you want me to come over," he said apprehensively. I realized that he was afraid that what happened earlier would happen again.

"I will _always_ want you," I said, not caring how needy I sounded.

"Then I will be over," he said. "What time is good for you?"

"Well, you'll probably want to eat first," I said. "You can come over whenever you want to."

"Okay," he said. "I'll be over there within the next thirty minutes."

"Okay, I will see you then," I said. "I love you."

"I love you, too," he said.

I disconnected the phone and smiled up at my ceiling. I was glad that Edward and I were able to resolve our problems calmly and rationally. It showed that we were capable of working things out by ourselves.

Edward was coming soon and I realized that I was still in my clothes from the day. I went to my dresser and pulled out a black tank top and grey sweatpants. I realized that it wasn't the most flattering thing, but I only cared about being comfortable.

I walked to the bathroom and washed my face and brushed my teeth. I decided to throw my hair into a messy bun

I walked back to my room and gasped when I saw that Edward was already waiting for me. I ran over to the window and threw it open.

"I'm so sorry, Edward!" I said breathlessly. "How long have you been here?"

He smiled crookedly at me and said, "Calm down, Bella. I've only been here for about two minutes."

He swung back and forth before landing in my room. Neither of us bothered to look at the door; Rosalie knew what we were doing.

He pulled me into a hug and I responded immediately. He was so warm and comforting that I didn't want to let go. He was the one to pull away.

"You look stunning, Bella," he said as he took in my appearance.

I scoffed and said, "Are you kidding? I'm in a tank top and sweat pants, Edward."

"You will _always_ look stunning to me, Bella," he said seriously. His eyes grew intense and I found myself staring at them.

He grabbed my hand and walked me to my bed. I got in and he tucked me in. He turned off all the lights before getting in bed with me. I could faintly see the outline of him as he faced me.

"I'm nervous about tomorrow," he said suddenly. I knew that he wasn't talking about us.

"You'll do fine," I said. "The first session is always a getting to know you kind of thing. They just ask you things about your past and try to assess you."

"Are you sure?" he asked. "I don't want to say the wrong thing and completely mess everything up."

"Don't worry about it," I told him. "Just pretend that the doctor is me or Alice or someone else that you can talk to easily. Don't over think things; just be Edward."

"Just be Edward," he repeated. "I think I can do that."

We smiled at each other and I suddenly yawned.

"Go to sleep, my beautiful Bella," he said softly. He caressed my face and kissed my temple. I was so relaxed that I felt myself falling asleep. Part of me registered that he was humming to me again, but the rest of me was too tired to care.

I drifted to sleep feeling glad that things were good once more in my life.


	24. Edward's First Therapy Session

**A/N Before I do my usual thanking of you guys, I have to give a huge thanks to lilquackers77. You really know how to make a girl feel good about herself. Thanks for being honest with me and giving me ideas.**

**Thank you also to Bloody Ale (who I also thank for giving me ideas), Aggie94, and F21496 for reviewing. I didn't even think that last chapter was all that good, but you guys made me change my mind. I love you guys!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight. It would be really cool if I did, though!**

BPOV

I woke up with my head and arm on Edward's chest. I pulled myself away gently because I hoped to get to see him sleep. Unfortunately, Edward proved to be a light sleeper.

"Good morning, my love," he said with a lazy smile.

"Good morning," I said, returning the smile. "Would you like me to make you some breakfast?"

"Actually, I should probably leave here soon," he said sadly. "I have my appointment in an hour."

I had completely forgotten about his counseling session. I blamed the fact that I had no coffee in my system for my lapse in memory.

"I forgot about that," I said. "I feel selfish in saying that I don't want you to leave me."

"This is something that I need to do if we're going to be able to grow as a couple," he said. "I don't want to leave, either. But if you think about it, we're only going to be apart for a few hours. We'll be together again, soon."

I was a little comforted in the thought that we would see each other soon. I smiled at him and we got out of my bed. I was a little stiff from sleeping the way that I did, so I had to do a huge stretch. I didn't understand the look of lust that Edward was giving me, but I ignored it. We walked to the window and looked at each other longingly.

"I will call you when I get back from my appointment," he told me. "Remember to dress comfortably; I want you to feel relaxed when you come over."

"I'm still not looking forward to the surprise," I told him. "But I think that for you I can learn to make an exception. Good luck at your appointment. I love you."

"Thank you," he said with his infamous crooked smile. "I love you, too."

He climbed out my window and jumped from the window to the tree. Having never watched him leave my room, I was terrified watching it. My eyes widened and my bottom lip slid between my teeth. Sensing my distress, Edward smiled at me again and mouthed, "I love you." He then began his descent down the tree.

I went downstairs once he was completely gone to make some coffee. Rosalie wasn't awake yet, so I had to make the coffee. After I had the coffee made, I went to the living room and called Jacob.

"Hello?" his husky voice said.

"Hey Jake, it's Bella," I said cheerfully.

I could hear the smile in his voice as he said, "Hey Bella. What's up?"

"I don't have anything going on this morning and I was wondering if you wanted to hang out," I told him.

"Yeah," he said. "That would be great. What time do you want to come over?"

I thought about it. "I can be over there in about thirty minutes; I still need to get ready. Is that okay?"

"Of course," he said. "Come over whenever you can. I'll see you soon."

"Okay, bye Jake," I said.

"Bye Bellie," he said before disconnecting the line.

I went upstairs and pulled out a three quarter sleeved grey shirt, dark blue skinny jeans, and black ballet flats. I figured that Rosalie would approve of the outfit. I went to the bathroom to brush my hair and teeth. I left the bathroom and went to Rosalie's room.

"Hey Rose?" I said as I walked into her room.

"Huh?" she asked sleepily.

"I'm going over to Jake's and then I'm going over to Edwards, okay?" I told her.

"Sure," she said. "Thanks for letting me know. Keep your phone on, please."

"Okay," I said. "Now go back to sleep."

"Uh huh," she said as she rolled over. She fell asleep immediately. I hoped that she would remember that I told her where I was going and that she wouldn't get mad at me if she forgot.

I walked downstairs and headed towards my truck. I got in and headed towards Jacob's house.

EPOV

I left Bella's house nervous for my appointment. I had never been to a therapist before, so I didn't know what to expect, which didn't help ease my nerves.

I parked my car in the driveway when I got to my house and walked inside. I hoped that a quick talk with Alice would help ease my nerves. I found her on the computer in the living room.

"Hey Alice?" I asked shyly.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

"Nothing's really wrong," I told her. "I'm just really nervous about my appointment."

"You have absolutely nothing to worry about," she said. "The first appointment is going to be very easy. It's mostly just a 'get to know you' kinda thing."

"How do you know this?" I asked while scrunching my forehead.

"I looked it up," she said simply. "Seriously, stop worrying. It's going to be no big deal. You shouldn't worry until at least the third meeting."

"Thanks, Alice," I said while rolling my eyes at her.

"No problem," she said. "I have an outfit laid out for you."

I nodded my head in acknowledgment of what she said. I headed up to the bathroom to take a shower. I got out and wrapped a towel around my waist and walked towards my bedroom.

"Put some fucking clothes on, dude!" Emmett exclaimed as he walked out of his room and saw me.

"Does my being naked bother you, Emmie?" I teased him.

"Um, yes," he said.

I smiled at him mischievously and started playing with the towel making it look like I was going to take it off. He ran downstairs like the house was on fire. I laughed and walked into my room. Lying on my bed was a navy blue button down shirt, khaki pants, and black shoes. I put them on and went downstairs. Alice was still on the computer and Emmett and Esme were on the couch watching television.

"You look great," Alice said as she took in how I looked.

"Of course I do," I said with a smile. "You dressed me."

She pretended to ponder what I said. "This is true," she said. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm still feeling nervous," I said. "But I'm pretty good."

"I can make you some breakfast if you want," she offered. She stood up and started walking towards the kitchen.

"You don't have to, Alice," I said following her. "I'm fully capable of making myself food."

"I'm hungry too, you know," she said. She went to the refrigerator and pulled out eggs and cheese.

"I don't really feel like making anything elaborate," she said. "Is scrambled eggs okay with you?"

I nodded and she got to work. She scrambled the eggs and added cheese to it. When the eggs were done, she pulled out two bowls and gave us each some eggs.

"Thank you, Alice," I told her as I took my bowl.

"It's no problem," she said while walking towards the dining room.

We sat down and ate our eggs and kept a light conversation going. I took our bowls when we were finished and washed them off.

"Wish me luck," I said. "I'm leaving for my appointment."

Alice pecked me on the cheek and said, "Good luck, big brother. You'll do great! I love you, Edward."

"Thanks, Alice," I said and kissed her temple. "I love you, too."

I walked into the living room and told Esme that I was leaving. She came up and gave me a hug.

"I'm proud of you, Edward," she said with a smile. "You'll be wonderful. Just relax and be open and honest. I love you, honey."

"I love you too, Mom," I said before leaving.

I walked to my car and drove towards the office. I pulled into the parking lot and walked towards the front door. I took a deep breath before opening it.

The inside was rather nice. It had hardwood flooring and two ficus plants by the door. There were two leather couches that were pushed up against the wall and a large coffee table covered with magazines. I walked over to the desk.

"Excuse me, Ms. Cope," I said looking at her name tag. "I'm here to see Dr. Clearwater for my nine o'clock appointment."

She looked through her files. "Are you Mr. Cullen?" she asked.

"Yes, ma'am," I answered.

"He should be with you shortly," she said. "Why don't you sit on the couch until he gets to you?"

"Sure," I said before walking towards the couch.

I picked up a random magazine, not looking at what it was, and started reading it. It ended up being a gossip magazine. I put it down and noticed Ms. Cope staring at me. She flushed and looked down. I noticed that it wasn't as cute when she did it as it was when my Bella did it.

I couldn't wait to show Bella her surprise. I knew that she didn't like surprises, but I was sure that she was going to love it.

"Edward Cullen?" a tall, tan man asked to the room.

I stood up and walked towards him. He led me into his office which was even nicer than the waiting room. It had a leather couch that had a painting behind it. There was a large leather armchair in front of the couch. One of the walls was decorated with three large bookcases filled with books. There was a wooden desk and a computer on the opposite wall and a lamp on the side. I took a seat on the couch and crossed my legs and put my hands folded in my lap. He sat down across from me in the armchair.

"My name is Seth Clearwater," he started. "Before we start, I just want to get a few things out of the way. This session is going to be just a 'getting to know you' kind of session. The following sessions, however, are going to be more difficult. We will be going into your past and talking about things that you will have a difficult time talking about. Don't let that discourage you, though. I want you to feel comfortable talking to me about things. Just relax and know that you can trust me. To start, why don't you tell me about your family?"

"Well, I have an older brother, Emmett, and a younger sister, Alice," I told him. "Alice is also my best friend; I can always talk to her about anything. I am a teacher's assistant to my mother, Esme, and her culinary school. My father, Carlisle, is a doctor at the local hospital, so we don't really see him that much. We are a very close family and I love them very much. My girlfriend's name is Bella and she is the most incredible woman that I have had the fortune to meet. She's shy but passionate and kind and opinionated and beautiful."

Seth wrote some notes down on his notepad while I was talking. Part of me felt a little uncomfortable with that, but I knew that he needed to do that in order to remember what I had said.

"I noticed that you put your girlfriend, Bella, in the category of family," he said. "Why is that?"

"I'm completely in love with her," I informed him. "I actually signed myself up for these appointments for her. There are things that have happened to me that I feel are keeping us apart and I hate that. I eventually want to ask her to marry me, but I'm not going to do that until I know that I have completely been completely healed."

He wrote some things down before responding. "I'm glad that she's motivated you to do this, but you seem to be under a false belief," he said. "These therapy sessions won't heal you. These sessions are for you to confront your problems and learn to forgive and forget so to speak. This is going to be a team effort; I need you to do some work on your end if we're going to help you out."

I processed what he said. "I understand," I said. "I will do whatever it takes to get better."

"That's good to know," he said while writing on his notepad. "Why don't you tell me about your hobbies?"

"I enjoy playing the piano," I told him. "My mother, Esme, signed me and my siblings for lesions when we were little and I discovered that I loved it. I love the fact that you can portray so many emotions with it. You can play a soft lullaby or you can play an angry song. I also enjoy cooking, although I didn't discover that what happened with Tanya happened."

I abruptly stopped talking and looked at the ground. It still hurt to think about her and what she did. Seth wrote some more notes before asking, "Is Tanya the reason why you are here?"

I didn't look up at him as I nodded my head.

"Let's talk about something else," he suggested. "What do you hope to achieve from these sessions?"

"I don't want to be afraid," I said honestly. "I don't want to fear that Bella will do what Tanya did to me. I want to be closer to my family and be able to tell them the real story of what happened. I want to be the person that I used to be."

He scribbled some notes down before saying, "Those are very good goals. I think that we can achieve these very easily as long as you are completely honest with me. Our session is almost over, so I think that we should wrap this up. I would recommend writing in a journal and write how you are feeling in it. I know it seems weird, but it will help you out a lot. If you can't talk to yourself, then it will be very difficult for you to talk to me. I would recommend that we do an appointment once a week at the same time. Please schedule an appointment for this time next week. It has been a pleasure talking to you, Edward."

We shook hands and I exit his office. I walked to Ms. Cope and planned my next appointment. I got out of there as soon as I could.

I could not wait to see Bella.


	25. Bella's Surprise

**A/N So just an FYI, I will not be able to update as frequently as I have been. I'm visiting my dad for the next 8 days (joy) so it'll be difficult for me to update. I apologize in advance and will try my hardest to update when I can.**

**As usual, thanks to lilquackers77, Bloody Ale, F21496, teambellaedward, Aggie94, elizabethmom05, and RedneckAngel for updating. I seriously appreciate you guys telling me what you think and giving me ideas. **

**Disclaimer: If Twilight was mine, there would be more smut. And EPOV of Twilight would be available to the public.**

BPOV

I had a lot of fun at Jacob's place today. We spent most of the time just hanging out in the garage. We talked about anything and everything. He told me that he had a crush on a girl named Leah Clearwater and he had been working up the courage to ask her out for weeks. I told him about my fixing things up with Edward. I also got Harry's recipe for his fish fry. It was a great time.

I was sad to leave him, but then I remembered that I was going to see Edward soon. I was excited but nervous to see what he had planned for me. I was sure that it was going to be good, but that didn't help my nerves. I had never been a fan of surprises. I didn't like not knowing what was going on.

I parked my truck and walked in the apartment. I walked upstairs and found Rosalie getting ready for her date with Emmett.

"Hey Rose," I said.

"Hey Bells," she replied. "How was hanging out with Jacob?"

"It was fun," I said. "Hey, what should I wear to Edward's? I should be leaving soon."

"Let me finish putting rollers in my hair and I will help you," she said. She finished putting the rollers in her hair and then we walked towards my room.

She walked into my closet and started throwing clothes on the floor in her haste to find something good for me. She pulled out a white tee shirt dress and black leggings. She grabbed black ballet flats and pulled out some black lingerie that she bought me for Christmas last year.

"Put these on and pull your hair into a messy bun," she ordered. "You go have fun, girl!"

"Thanks, Rose," I said with a smile. "I would die without you. You have fun with Emmett, too."

"Wrap it before you tap it!" I added jokingly.

She rolled her eyes at me and walked out of my room. I put on the clothes and noticed that the dress was tight but still breathable. I really liked the outfit.

I walked towards the bathroom so that I could do my hair. I gathered my hair and put it in a loose bun and tied it back with a black ponytail holder. I decided to brush my teeth again because it couldn't hurt.

After getting completely ready, I went back to Rosalie's room to see if she approved of the outfit. I knocked on her door and she opened it. I was stunned by how gorgeous she looked.

Her hair was in loose waves and they framed her face. Her lips were a deep red color and her eyes looked huge. She was wearing a red dress that stopped mid-thigh and had a plunging neck line. She wore black peep toed shoes that looked like they were about five inches.

"Wow, Rose," I said. "You look incredible!"

"Thanks Bella," she replied. "You look really good, too. Turn around in a slow circle so I can see how you look.

I turned around slowly and I could feel her eyes scrutinizing my body. I did a full 360° turn and saw a smile on her face.

"Good," she said simply. "You have an ass and curves. Edward is going to have a difficult time keeping his hands to himself."

I blushed at her compliment and muttered a thank you. I backed out of her room and walked downstairs. I left the apartment and headed towards my truck. I got in and cranked up the music. "Battlefield" by Jordin Sparks was playing. I started singing along with the radio.

I continued driving towards Edward's house and the closer I got, the more nervous I got. I couldn't fully explain why I was nervous; all we were doing was hanging out. We'd done it plenty of times before at my apartment. Maybe it was the fact that I was going to be alone with him in his house.

I drove my car into the large driveway and parked by the garage. I walked towards the front door and took two deep breaths before ringing the doorbell. I giggled when I saw Edward running towards the door.

"Hello, Bella," he said as he pulled me into a hug. He squeezed me and I giggled at his enthusiasm.

"Somebody's excited to see me," I teased. He just rolled his eyes and led me inside his house. I was just as stunned by its beauty as I was the first time I saw his house.

"Um, can we go to my room?" he asked nervously.

I nodded my head and he took my hand in his. I couldn't help but feel a little devious as we made our way to his room. I realized that I had not actually seen his bedroom. He showed it to Rosalie and me briefly when he gave us a tour on our first date, but I never actually got to see it.

"So, this is my room," he said, gesturing to his room. It was just as beautiful as the rest of the house.

There was a giant bed that rested in the middle of one of the walls. One wall was nothing but glass, giving a beautiful view of the woods. There was a giant flat screen TV that came out of the bed frame. His closet was across from his bed and it was filled with clothes. I didn't doubt that Alice had stocked his closet. Another wall had four white bookshelves that were filled with music and books.

"Wow," I said in awe. "You have so much music."

"Do you have any favorites?" he asked.

"Um, I listen to just about anything," I told him. "I'm not a huge fan of country, though. My mother Renée used to play a lot of classical music, so I have a little bit of a soft spot for it."

He nodded and looked like he was storing this information in his mind for future reference. I chose to ignore it and continue looking around his room. I couldn't resist the urge to throw myself onto his bed, so I did. It was the comfiest bed that I had ever laid on. It adjusted to my curves but was still supportive.

Edward just stood there with his mouth slightly open and his eyes wide and dark. Apparently, he wasn't expecting me to jump like that. I smiled at him seductively and he jumped on the bed as well. He stalked towards me like a mountain lion and I bit my lip and widened my eyes innocently. He forced his body in between my legs and kissed me forcefully. I moaned at the animalistic side of Edward and I could feel myself getting wet. He took advantage of that and stuck his tongue into my mouth. I pulled his hair and he groaned into my mouth. I took his bottom lip and sucked on it gently before kissing him again.

I rolled him over without breaking the kiss so that I was straddling him. I rubbed my hands down his chest and arms, feeling his muscles. He placed his hands on my hips and I ground myself into his hardness. The feeling made me get wetter and we moaned simultaneously. I started pulling his shirt up when I felt his hands constrict around my wrists.

"What's wrong, Edward?" I asked him, my breathing unsteady.

"We can't do this," he said. "Not right now. I need to be completely ready and I'm not. I'm sorry, Bella."

I would be lying if I said that I wasn't disappointed, but I knew that he was right. It wasn't the right time for us.

I struggled to get my breathing under control. Edward let go of my wrists and we just snuggled in his bed. It was very nice once I was breathing normally. He adjusted us so that we were spooning and his arm was draped around my waist. I started falling asleep and I made no move to stop it from happening.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

I woke up to my stomach growling. It took me a minute to remember where I was. I rolled over and faced Edward.

"Edward," I sighed.

"Are you really awake this time?" he asked.

My eyebrows furrowed as I said, "Have there been many false alarms?"

"Just a couple," he said. My stomach growled and Edward said, "Would you like me to make you some lunch?"

I looked at the time and said, "Um, it's five thirty, Edward."

"Well, what about dinner?" he said with a chuckle.

"That would be wonderful," I said.

We walked downstairs to the kitchen and we decided to make creamy pesto sauce with roasted chicken chunks. It was a simple recipe that took less than an hour, so I was all for it. Edward heated the oil and I cut up the pieces of chicken. I added the chicken and sautéed it for a few minutes. We let it simmer for fifteen minutes and then dished out our portions.

We walked to the table and sat across from each other. I moaned at the first bite; it was delicious and I had underestimated how hungry I really was.

"This is delicious!" I exclaimed.

"Well, I guess we'll just have to thank the cook," he said with a smile.

"Thank you, Chef Edward," I teased.

"Hey, you helped," he pointed out.

"Thank you, Chef Bella," I said. We both laughed and continued eating.

I took the plates and washed them off in the kitchen much to Edward's dismay. He walked up behind me and wrapped his arms around my waist. I smiled and turned around so that we were facing and wrapped my arms around his neck. He leaned down and kissed me lovingly. We broke away and looked into each other's eyes. I saw nothing but happiness and love in his eyes, and I was sure that mine were too.

"There's something that I want to show you," Edward said suddenly.

He let go of me and grabbed my hand. He led us towards the basement. I was getting nervous as I realized that he was showing me my surprise. In the basement was a large grand piano, two acoustic guitars, a drum set, and two microphones. Edward walked over to the grand piano and sat down.

"This was inspired by you," he said before he started playing.

The song was complicated with a melody that sang and a countermelody lying underneath in perfect harmony. The song moved to a bridge that was almost sickeningly sweet sounding. The song slowed down and sounded solemn and melancholy. It concluded with soft chords.

I was stunned into silence at the sheer beauty of the song. The fact that _I_ had inspired it made me that much more amazed. He looked up at me, silently asking me what I thought.

"It was beautiful," I managed to get out. Tears were threatening to leak out of my eyes.

Edward got up and hugged me securely against his chest. I was comforted by the even tempo of his heart.

"I love you, Bella," he said. "More than you can possibly imagine."

"Well, I know how much _I _love _you_," I said.

He pulled away and said, "You compare a single tree to an entire forest."

I rolled my eyes at him and hugged him again. In that moment, I felt secure. In the moment, I felt happy.

In that moment, I felt loved.


	26. Bella's Surpride Pt 2 EPOV

**A/N I did it! I found a way to get this chaper up! Imagine the silliest happy dance and that's what I'm doing right now - in the middle of a public library, of course. :D I'm proud of myself. Hopefully this chapter is worth the wait.**

**Thank you to lilquackers77, F21496, Bloody Ale, elizabethmom05, and Aggie94 for reviewing and for wishing me luck at my Dad's. I appreciate the fact that you actually read my stupid A/N's. You guys mean the world to me. **

**Disclaimer: Twilight isn't mine. Duh. :D**

EPOV

I was excited to see Bella again and to play her lullaby for her. I really hoped that she was going to like it. I had spent hours playing it before she arrived to make sure that it was absolutely perfect. She deserved nothing less.

I engulfed her into a huge hug when I saw her standing on my front porch. She looked stunning in a tight white sweater dress and black leggings. Of course, she would look stunning in anything; or nothing.

I showed her my room and I was a little apprehensive of how she would react. She seemed to like it though – especially my music collection. She told me that she enjoyed classical music the most. I stored that information in my head for a possible date; I could take her to a concert.

I was not expecting her to jump on my bed. The sight of her laying where I slept was enough to turn me on. It didn't hurt or help that her perfect breasts bounced with the springs. I lost complete control of my body and instinct took over. I stalked towards her and attacked her mouth with my own.

An internal struggle was going on in my mind as I deepened the kiss. I was undoubtably turned on, but I knew that it wasn't the right time for us to make love. I needed to be ready and our first time needed to be perfect.

I stopped her when she tried taking my shirt off and voiced my concerns. She seemed to understand and struggled to get her breathing back to normal. I adjusted her so that we were spooning and her breathing steadied. I was so comfortable in that moment with Bella's small frame next to mine that I fell asleep with her.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

I woke up a few hours later surprised that I hadn't gotten up at all through my nap. Normally, I was a very restless sleeper and I moved a lot in my sleep. I smiled to myself when I realized that Bella was the reason why I slept peacefully.

Bella woke up a little while later and we went downstairs to make her some food. We worked together harmoniously in the kitchen, dividing up the tasks so that it took less time. We went to the living room table and ate our food. It was absolutely delicious and I knew it was because Bella helped make it. I wasn't going to voice that for fear of sounding feminine.

She took my plate when I was finished and went to the kitchen to wash them off. I felt bad that she was doing that because it was my house, so I went to the kitchen to help her. She was already finished, so I wrapped my arms around her slight frame. She turned around to face me and wrapped her arms around my neck, bringing me closer to her. I kissed her lovingly and stared into her eyes when we broke apart. I once again found myself getting lost in their depths that were currently filled with love. For me.

I decided that it was the perfect time for me to play her lullaby for her. I led her down to the music room in the basement and sat down at the grand piano. I started playing the piece and thought back to the first day I met her. How shy she was. How beautiful she was. I thought back to our first date with the six of us. How she impressed me with her knowledge on music and literature. I thought back to our date at the coffee shop. How she was hesitant to let me pay for her. How easy she was to talk to. I thought back to the first time I went to Bella's bedroom. How she listened to me tell my story about Tanya.

I started concluding the piece because I knew that our time was going to end; that Bella was meant to fall asleep. I played the soft, solemn chords that concluded the song. I looked up at her, observing her facial expressions. I saw shock and happiness and love in her eyes. I hugged her securely against my chest and told her how much I loved her. I knew there was no way that she loved me as much as I loved her, but hearing her say how much she loved me still felt good.

I broke away and led her back upstairs. I was suddenly struck by inspiration and led her to my bedroom.

"What are we doing?" she asked.

"There's something I want to do," I said excitedly.

We entered my bedroom and I walked over to my stereo. I put in a mixed cd that I had made of my favorite classical songs. I put on "Clair de Lune" and walked back over to Bella.

"Will you dance with me?" I asked her while extending my hand towards her.

"I'm not a very good dancer," she informed me.

"That's okay," I told her. "It's all in the leading, anyway."

She walked towards me and I grabbed her hand with my own. My other hand wrapped around her waist and she rested her hand on my shoulder. I gently moved us in time with the music and I heard her sigh in contentment.

"See? This isn't so bad is it?" I asked.

"No," she said. "It isn't so bad. Not when I'm with you."

We continued swaying in time to the music. It felt perfect; like it was meant to be. I spun her around in a slow circle and she giggled. I smiled at her because I loved that she was allowing herself to be carefree with me. That she trusted me enough to let herself be like that with me. I didn't deserve it.

The song ended and switched to "Rhapsody in Blue" which was a jazzier song. We kept dancing until that song ended. We kept dancing until the cd ended.

"That was fun," she said, her face bright and glowing.

"I'm glad you enjoyed yourself," I said with a smile, happy that she enjoyed it.

"Well, what do you want to do now?" she asked.

"I was actually wondering if you wanted to watch a movie with me," I offered.

"I would like that," she said. "Let me call Rosalie and tell her that I will be home a little later than I thought I would be."

I nodded and she pulled her cell phone out.

"Hey Rose," she said into the phone. "I'm sorry to interrupt your date."

Rosalie said something back, but I couldn't understand what she had said.

"Well I'm happy for you," Bella told her. "You deserve it more than anybody that I know."

Rosalie replied something that made Bella roll her eyes.

"Okay, Rose," she said while shaking her head. "Listen, I just called to let you know that I will be home later than I planned."

Whatever Rosalie said made Bella blush furiously.

"No, Rosalie," she said sternly. "We're going to watch a movie. I will call you when I am getting ready to leave."

Rosalie said something quick to her.

"I know," she said. "I love you, too."

Bella hung up the phone and looked up at me.

"What do you want to watch?" she asked me casually.

"Well, I'm up for anything," I told her. "Whatever you want to watch is fine. I have a huge collection of dvds."

I led her to where the dvds were. She gasped as she took in how many I had.

"You weren't kidding, were you?" she asked.

I smiled at her and shook my head. She ran her small hands down the backs of the dvds as she looked at them. She pulled out "Fight Club" and walked back to me.

"Is this okay?" she asked the dvd to me.

I was a little surprised that she chose _that_ movie, but I knew by now to expect the unexpected with Bella. I personally really liked "Fight Club," but I would hardly classify it as a date movie. Still, it was whatever she wanted, and that was what she wanted.

"That's great," I told her as I took it out of her hand. "I'll put it in the dvd player. Why don't you get situated on the bed?"

She nodded and walked over to my bed. I bent down to turn the tv and dvd player on. I heard a stiffled moan come over from Bella. I felt myself harden slightly at the sound and I turned around to look at her questioningly.

"You have a really nice ass," she said seductively. She bit her lip as she looked at me.

It took every ounce of my self control to not go over there and make love to her there. Somehow, I managed to focus on putting the dvd in my dvd player and press play. I made my way over to her and climbed into the bed with her. She adjusted herself so that her head was on my chest and my arm was around her protectively. I kissed the top of her head and we started watching the movie.

About halfway through the movie, Bella fell asleep. I looked down at her sleeping form. She looked like an angel with her hair spread all around her face and her face was peaceful. I felt like I could watch her sleep forever and never tire of it.

"Edward," she sighed in her sleep. "I love you."

I smiled to myself as I thought about how lucky I was to have her in my life. I wasn't worthy of her.

"I love you, too," I told her sleeping form.

The movie ended and I turned it off with the remote by my bed. I grabbed the tv remote and turned off the tv. I realized that Rosalie probably didn't know that she was going to be asleep, so I got out of bed to find Bella's phone. I found it on the table by my bed. I opened it and looked for Rosalie's number and dialed it.

"Hey sexy lady," Rosalie's voice said.

I chuckled lightly and said, "This is Edward."

She laughed embarassedly. "Sorry, Edward," she said. "What's wrong."

"Nothing's wrong," I told her. "She fell asleep and she just looks so peaceful that I didn't want to wake her up." I looked at Bella as I said this and smiled. "I called you so that you wouldn't worry about her."

"Well, I appreciate that, Edward," she said. "Just so you know, Emmett is going to be spending the night here. I hope you don't mind."

"No, not at all," I said. "I actually thank you for that. Keep him as long as you'd like. Just be safe and don't have sex on Bella's bed. I don't think that she'd appreciate that very much."

"I like you, Edward," she said with a laugh. "Don't worry about us. I'll let you get back to your woman."

"Thank you, Rosalie," I said. "I'll call you in the morning."

"Okay," she said. "Bye, Edward."

"Goodbye, Rosalie," I said before shutting the phone.

I set her phone back on the table and adjusted Bella so that she was completely under the covers. I kissed her forehead before walking over to my side of the bed. I crawled in and made myself so that our foreheads were touching and our bodies were angled towards each other.

"Good night, my beautiful Bella," I said. "I love you."

I closed my eyes and drifted to a happy sleep.


	27. Interrogations EPOV

**A/N I need to apologize to you guys. I'm sorry that I've been so sucky at posting chapters. My life has been really hectic lately and it's been difficult for me to post. I have another week of band camp and then school starts the following Thursday. I probably won't be able to post as often as I had been and I'm truly sorry. I hope that doesn't discourage you guys from reading my story…**

**Thank you so much to lilquackers77, Aggie94, F21496, Bloody Ale, and elizabethmom05 for reviewing. I look forward to opening my e-mail every time I put a chapter out. You guys are the greatest.**

**Disclaimer: Do I obsess over Twilight? Yes. Do I own it? No; unfortunately for me.**

EPOV

I woke up the next morning feeling refreshed and happy. I sat up and stretched hugely. I looked down at Bella who looked beautiful with her mahogany hair everywhere and her lips pouting slightly. I couldn't resist the urge to kiss her lips so I did.

Her lips were still for a second before they started responding to me. I was conscious of my morning breath, so I made no move to deepen the kiss. I continued kissing her for a few minutes before breaking away.

"Good morning," I said with a smile.

"More like amazing morning," she sleepily, opening her eyes.

I chuckled and watched as she stretched. She moaned slightly and I felt myself harden at the sound. The things that she did to me…

"How did you sleep?" I asked, trying to not think about the semi-erection that I was sporting.

"I actually slept really well," she informed me. "Better than I have slept in a while."

"I know what you mean," I said. "I don't think that I have slept that well in a long time."

We sat together in a comfortable silence. I played with her hair gently and smiled to myself. I knew that I was the luckiest man alive.

"Are you hungry?" I asked her, realizing that it had been a while since she had eaten.

"Actually, I am," she said as her stomach growled, seconding the statement.

We both got out of bed and I walked over to her. She grabbed my hand and I smiled at her.

"What would you like to eat?" I asked her as we walked down the stairs.

"Um, whatever you want," she responded.

We walked into the kitchen. I walked to the refrigerator and pulled out pancake batter, syrup, butter, bacon, and eggs. I then walked to the pantry and pulled out some bread.

"Could you put the toast in the toaster while I make the pancakes?" I asked.

"Yeah, of course," she said. "Where is the toaster?"

"In the cabinet by the stove," I told her.

She bent down to grab it and I couldn't help but stare at her. Her dress rode up and I could see the curve of her ass through the leggings. She got up with the toaster in her hands and caught me staring.

"See something you like?" she asked seductively.

"I see a lot of things that I like," I told her.

She smirked and sauntered over to me.

"Well, what are you going to do about it?" she asked.

I didn't hesitate in kissing her. Breakfast was completely forgotten as I felt her fingers pull in my hair, securing my face to hers. I put my hands on her hips and pulled her body closer to me. I picked her up so that she was sitting on the counter. I stood in between her legs and she wrapped her legs around my waist. I pulled away after a few minutes and chuckled at her disappointed face.

"We need to eat, love," I told her.

She sighed and hopped off of the counter. She plugged in the toaster and made the toast while I got two pans; one for the pancakes and one for the eggs.

"I can make the eggs if you want," she said.

"You don't have to do that, Bella," I told her.

"I want to," she said firmly.

"Okay," I said, unable to deny her anything. I had it bad for this woman.

She got to work on the eggs while I made the pancakes. The toast finished right after Bella was finished scrambling the eggs.

"Where are your plates?" she asked.

"Right above your head," I told her while flipping the pancakes.

She grabbed two plates and put a piece of toast on each plate. She then put half of the eggs on her plate and the other half on mine. I finished the pancakes and put two on my plate and two on hers. I walked over to where I put the syrup and put it in the microwave for 45 seconds. When that was done, I walked back to Bella, who was putting butter on our toast. I poured the syrup on our pancakes and then picked up the batter, butter, and eggs and put them in the refrigerator.

We grabbed our plates and walked to the dining room. I took a bite of the eggs and they were delicious. I realized that I had forgotten to get us drinks.

"Do you want anything to drink?" I asked. "Coffee? Orange juice?"

"Orange juice would be wonderful," she said before taking another bite of pancake. I was distracted by the bit of syrup that was on the side of her mouth. I wanted nothing more than to go over there and lick it off of her, but she licked it off herself.

I walked back into the kitchen and got two glasses. Then, I went to the refrigerator and grabbed the orange juice. I poured us a decent amount of orange juice before putting it back in the refrigerator.

I walked back to Bella and set her glass down.

"Thank you," she said with a smile.

"You're very welcome," I said with a responding smile.

We continued eating in a comfortable silence. The food was delicious and I wanted to keep eating even though I knew that I was full.

I grabbed my plate and, noticing that Bella was finished, grabbed Bella's before she could do anything about it. She huffed and crossed her arms over her chest. I kissed her on the forehead before walking back into the kitchen. I rinsed off the plates and put them in the dishwasher. I looked up and saw Bella in the doorway staring at me with lust in her eyes.

"What?" I asked, wondering why she was staring at me like that.

"It's surprisingly arousing to see you with your hands all wet like that," she said.

I groaned at her words and closed the distance between us in three easy strides. I kissed her fervently and responded immediately. My arms wrapped themselves around her waist and she jumped on me, wrapping her legs around my waist. I continued kissing her until I heard a cough and a laugh in the doorway. I broke apart to see Alice and Emmett staring at us.

"What is going on here?" Alice asked knowingly looking between us. Bella was still wrapped around me.

"It's none of your business," I said. Bella climbed off me, her face red as a tomato.

"Eddie's finally getting some!" Emmett guaffed.

"Shut the hell up, Emmett," I said angrily. "She's right there."

Bella giggled lightly and I felt my anger disappear. I wrapped my arms around her and pulled her closer to me.

"Can we continue this in the living room?" Alice asked. "I have tons to ask you guys."

I groaned as I imagined the torture that was about to take place. I grabbed Bella's hand and walked her to the living room. We sat on the couch while Alice and Emmett sat in the chairs.

"I guess I'll start with the easy questions," Alice said. "Have you guys had sex yet?"

I felt Bella tense up next to me and I rubbed her back soothingly.

"No, Alice," I said. "We're waiting until the time is right."

Alice nodded while Emmett exclaimed, "What? You haven't tapped that yet?!"

I could see Bella blush out of the corner of my eye. I rolled my eyes at Emmett, but didn't answer his question.

"Okay, moving on," Alice said. "Have you said the 'L-word' yet?"

"Yes, Alice," I said. "Bella knows that I love her and I know that she loves me."

"That's really cute," Alice said with a smile. "Final question; are you guys happy?"

"Of course we are," I said. "I haven't been happier in my entire life."

I leaned over to Bella and whispered, "I love you." She smiled and whispered, "I love you more."

Alice smiled at our little exchange. Emmett just rolled his eyes.

"Your turn, Miss Alice," Bella said, surprising everybody.

"What are you talking about?" Alice asked.

"It's our turn to interrogate you about your date with Jasper," Bella said like it was the most obvious thing in the world. "How was it?"

Alice's face went from shock to happiness and her eyes glazed over as she thought about what happened.

"It was the most romantic thing I've ever done," she told us. "So Jasper came over here to pick me up. We drove to a park and he had a picnic already set up. We had tons of food that Jasper had cooked for us. We fed each other and talked. We got in his car and he told me that he didn't want to leave me yet. The moment was so perfect that I kissed him. We drove to his house and we watched movies until we fell asleep in each other's arms. We woke up and I told him that I loved him. He told me that he loved me too. I won't tell you the dirty details of what happened next. Then he drove me home and we discovered you two dry humping."

"Don't you think it's a little soon to tell him that you love him?" Bella asked. I agreed with Bella, I thought that it was a little early, too.

"Nope," she said. "I already know that we are soul mates and we'll be together forever, so I thought that he should know."

I rolled my eyes and shook my head at Alice's logic. I decided to let it go because Alice was going to do what she wanted, whether I liked it or not.

"So how was your date, Emmett?" Bella asked.

"It was good," he said. "We went wine tasting. We went back to your apartment and christened her bedroom, the bathroom, the living room, the kitchen..."

"You didn't touch my room, did you?" Bella asked.

"Nope," he said. "Eddie boy over here told us that we weren't allowed to."

She looked at me questioningly. "I called Rosalie last night when you fell asleep so that she wouldn't worry about you. I told them that your room was off limits."

"Thank you," she said gratefully.

"I should probably take Bella home," I said. "Rosalie's probably wondering when she's coming home."

"Okay," Alice said. "Tell Rose that the three of us need to have another girl's night sometime soon."

"I will," Bella said. "It was nice to see you again."

We got off the couch and headed back to my bedroom.

"That was incredibly uncomfortable," Bella said once we were inside my room.

"I'm sorry, love," I said. "I wasn't expecting that to happen."

"Well, I knew it was going to happen eventually," she sighed. "At least I now have some things to tease Rose about."

She gathered her things and we walked back downstairs. Alice and Emmett were watching television.

"I'll be back in a few," I said.

"Take your time," Emmett said with a wink.

I rolled my eyes and led Bella to the front door. We walked towards the garage and Bella walked up to my Volvo. I unlocked it and watched her get in. Realizing that I was standing there and not moving, I walked over to the driver's seat and got in. I drove towards her apartment.

"I never got to say this, but thank you for staying," I told her. "It was nice to have you spend the night in _my_ room this time."

"It was no problem," she said. "I had a really good time."

"I'm glad," I told her with a smile.

We drove in a comfortable silence until we got to her apartment. I got out and ran to the passenger door so I could open it for her. She got out and smiled breathtakingly at me. I felt my face respond in a smile.

I walked her to her door and kissed her passionately. She responded by running her tongue along my bottom lip. I opened my mouth to her and allowed her to explore my mouth. I saw the door open out of the corner of my eye and saw Rosalie standing there smiling at us. I pulled away and Bella looked confused until she saw Rosalie. She blushed beautifully and smiled sheepishly at her.

"Goodbye, Bella," I said. "I'll call you later, okay?"

"Okay," she said. "I love you."

"I love you, too," I said before walking to my car.


	28. Interrogations BPOV

**A/N So I'm working out an updating schedule. I'm thinking that I'll do one story on Sunday and the other on Tuesday. I'm still working it out, though.**

**Thanks to Bloody Ale, lilquackers77, DoubleAA, elizabethmom05, and emmybaby for reviewing. I appreciate the fact that you're okay with my suckiness at updating.**

**Disclaimer: I'm apparently not cool enough to own Twilight. Aw. **

BPOV

I walked into our apartment after Edward drove away. I was always a little sad to see Edward leave, but I always knew that he would come back later. I didn't dwell on it much; I had a more pressing issue to deal with.

Rosalie walked in silence with me to the living room. She knew about the Spanish Inquisition that was about to take place. I couldn't help the evil smirk that crossed my face at the thought. It was about time that I made _her_ uncomfortable in a discussion about sex.

"So Rosalie," I said knowingly as I plopped down on my couch. "How was last night?"

"It was good," she said as she sat on her own couch. "The wine was delicious. I really liked all the different flavors."

"Oh, is that what you're calling it now?" I asked her with a huge smirk on my face.

"That's what I'm calling what?" she asked, feigning stupidity.

"Well, call me crazy, but I'm positive that you and Emmett had sex here last night," I told her.

She gasped and widened her eyes at me. The smirk on my face almost hurt because it was so big. Making her feel uncomfortable was amazing. I wondered vaguely if that was how Rosalie felt while making_ me_ uncomfortable.

"Am I really that transparent?" she asked uneasily.

"Well, yes," I said. I knew her too well; she couldn't hide _anything_ from me. "Also, a little birdie told me that this happened in almost every room in the house."

It was amusing to see the conflicting emotions cross her face. She was mad at Emmett for telling me before she had, but she was also remembering what had happened. Her eyes glazed over in the lust-filled memories she was experiencing, but her mouth was set in an angry scowl. I smiled and crossed my legs as I waited for her response.

"Okay! You caught me!" she exclaimed while throwing her arms in the air.

"Say it," I said. "Out loud."

"I had sex with Emmett Cullen in this apartment!" she said.

"Well, now that we have gotten the obvious out of the way, tell me everything!" I said. Her entire demeanor changed with my words.

"Oh, my God, Bella," she said excitedly. "It was amazing. We went wine testing and he was so caring with me. He held my hand as we walked around. We were both a little tipsy from the wine, so we decided to get a taxi. We weren't ready to leave each other, so I invited him over. I blame the alcohol for my lack of judgement because I should have realized what would've happened. The second we got in the apartment I jumped his bones in the living room. When we were done, I was going to go to the kitchen and get us some drinks but he followed me and we had sex in the kitchen. It wasn't exactly the most comfortable experience but it was still amazing. We sat in the living room and talked for a while. It was getting late and I invited Emmett to sleep over. The second that we got into my bedroom, he picked me up and threw me on the bed. I got a call from Edward saying that you were sleeping over and he told us that we were to leave your room alone. It was like he knew what was going on. Well, he does know his brother, so I guess it wasn't that hard to figure out. Anyway, when we woke up, I decided to take a shower and he decided to shower with me. I made him breakfast and then he called his sister to pick him up. He kissed me goodbye and then left. It was the most wonderful night ever."

"It sounds like it," I said. "I'm glad that you had a good time. I really like Emmett and I think that he's really good for you. Have you told him that you're in love with him?"

"No," she said, sounding really surprised. "I'm not in love with him, so why would I tell him that?"

I was surprised that she didn't realize that she was in love with him. I couldn't understand how she couldn't see the changes in herself due to Emmett.

"Why don't you think that you're in love with him?" I asked.

"I don't know," she said. "I just don't think that I am in love with him."

I got up off the couch and walked over to her. I sat so that our heads were level to each other. I waited until I had her full eye contact.

"Emmett Cullen," I said to her. Her face immediately turned into a huge smile and her skin was practically glowing.

"You're going to sit there and tell me that you are not in love with Emmett?" I asked her.

"Oh, my God," she said. "I _am_ in love with him! What do I do, Bella?"

"Well, telling him would help," I pointed out to her.

"Oh, right," she said.

She got up and ran to her room, dialing Emmetts number in the process. I smiled and shook my head at her. I was glad that she realized that she was in love with him. He had changed her so much.

I decided to turn on the television while I waited for Edward to call me. I felt like a kid again as I turned on SpongeBob SquarePants. I sung along with the theme song and laughed at the stupid things that SpongeBob and Patrick got themselves into. Halfway through the episode, my phone rang.

"Hello?" I asked.

"Hello, Bella," Edward said in his velvety smooth voice. "How are you?"

"I'm amazing," I told him. "I helped Rose realize that she is in love with your brother. She's on the phone with him right now."

He chuckled and said, "Well, that explains why Emmett randomly ran out of the room doing a happy dance a little while ago."

"That had to be a sight to see," I said. I giggled as I pictured him doing a silly dance.

"It was," he said. "So, I have another counseling session today, so I was wondering if you wanted to come to dinner with me."

"I would love that," I told him. "What do you want me to wear?"

"Well, I was thinking some place fancy, so have Rosalie get you something nice to wear," he said.

"That sounds good," I said. "Any hints as to where we are going to go?"

"Of course not, my dear Bella," he said jokingly. "That would ruin the surprise."

"Edward," I said. "You know how I don't like surprises."

"You also didn't like dancing and I changed that in one night," he pointed out. "I think I can change your dislike of surprises."

"Oh really?" I asked. "And how exactly do you plan on doing that?"

"I can think of a few things," he said, his voice deeper that it was usually.

"So what time are you going to get me?" I asked, trying to change the subject from the dangerous direction that it was heading.

"I was planning on picking you up around six in the Vanquish," he said. "Is that okay?"

"That would be wonderful," I said. "I look forward to seeing you then. I love you."

"Goodbye, my love," he said. "I love you, too."

I hung up my phone and smiled to myself. I wasn't going to tell anybody, but I really was excited for our dinner date. I had it really bad for Edward.

And I couldn't be happier about that fact.


	29. Edward's Second Therapy Session

**A/N I apologize in advance for this long author's note. I have a lot I need to get out here.**

**First off, a HUGE thanks to emmybaby, who reviewed and helped me come up with my updating schedule. Go read her story "From Rochester to Forks Good, Bad, or In Between." It's pretty good.**

**Next, thanks to Bloody Ale and lilquackers77 for reviewing. I had less reviews than other chapters, which made me kind of sad, but there were a lot of people added this story to their favorite stories, which made up for it.**

**My OFFICIAL posting schedule is: "The Cullenary School" on Sundays; "The Lion, The Lamb, and the Wolf" on Tuesdays. I sometimes have Saturdays free, too, so I might post this story on Saturdays instead. Reviews motivate me to do that. ;)**

**Also, as thanks for your review, I will send a preview to the next chapter. How does that sound? :D**

**Okay, now I am done. Let's get on with the story!**

**Disclaimer: My name isn't Stephenie Meyer. If it were, I would own Twilight. But I don't. Because I'm not her.**

EPOV

I left Bella's apartment and headed home where I wasn't sure what was going to happen. Fortunately for me, Alice seemed to get all of her questions out in the open when Bella was over. She let me get my food and take it up to my room in silence. Normally, I would've been extremely worried, but Jasper seemed to be higher up on her priorities than I was.

I ate my food on my bed where Bella slept less than 24 hours ago. It was surprisingly easy to have her over. We seemed to have developed a routine: hang out, sleep, wake up, make breakfast, and get caught by someone. It was a pretty nice routine – minus the getting caught. If she just lived with me, we wouldn't have that problem.

That train of thought got me thinking about our life together. I already knew that I was in love with her and that she was the one for me. But it seemed cruel to ask her to move in with me when we had yet to make love. I felt bad that I was the one holding us back. I thought of things that I could do to make up for that fact.

I thought about getting her a promise ring. Not an engagement ring, but something that meant that she was mine. A promise that, when I got over the things in my past, I would ask her to move in with me and, eventually, be my wife.

I planned on getting the ring after my therapy session. I thought about looking up some rings online, but then I remembered that I had a sister who knew everything about fashion.

I ran downstairs, hoping to find Alice on the computer. I wasn't disappointed.

"Alice," I started. "I need your help."

She turned to look me. "What's wrong," she asked.

"Why does something have to be wrong?" I asked jokingly. "I actually was thinking about getting Bella a promise ring. Something that means that, when I get over my issues, we can truly start our future together."

She thought about it for a second before gasping and widening her eyes.

"I have the perfect ring in mind!" she exclaimed before turning to the computer.

She typed some stuff into the computer and pulled up a beautiful ring with a heart-shaped diamond on a metal band. It was absolutely perfect.

"This is absolutely incredible, Alice," I told her honestly.

"I thought that you would like it," she said smugly. "The ring is $19,200, so you'll have to get your credit card with an unlimited spending amount on it."

"I'm okay with that," I said. "I was thinking about picking it up after therapy today. I was thinking about inviting her to go to dinner with me at 'La Bella Italia' and give it to her there. What do you think?"

"I think that's a great idea, Edward," she told me. "I can imagine her right now in a black dress with her hair elegantly pulled up with some hair cascading around her face. She'll be beautiful."

"She's always beautiful," I pointed out.

"True," she said. "Ooh! I should help Rose out with Bella's hair and make-up. We can make it like a girl's night while you go to therapy."

I thought about it for a second. I was a little jealous that Alice was going to get to spend time with her before me, which was a completely irrational thought. I decided that it was a good idea.

"I'm sure they would love that," I told her. "I'm going to call Bella and ask her to dinner and then you can call Rosalie if you want. Just don't give too much away."

She nodded and I walked away, dialing Bella's number while I walked.

I was extremely pleased when she accepted without a hassle. Perhaps I was changing her dislike of surprises. My mind started to wander to possible surprises I could do in the future.

I walked back to Alice who just hung up the phone and had a huge smile on her face.

"I need to get ready for my therapy session," I told her. I was worried about what I was going to wear for our dinner date, but I wasn't going to ask her to set an outfit for me.

"Don't worry," she said, sensing my fears. "I'll have an outfit ready for your session and a nice outfit for your date."

I kissed her on the cheek and thanked her before walking upstairs to take a shower.

I got out of the shower and walked into my room where, sure enough, there was an outfit laid out on my bed. I thought that she was going to be a great mother in the future.

I pulled on the white button down shirt, the black pants, the black socks, and black shoes on. I didn't bother to look at myself because I knew that Alice would never put me in something silly.

I walked downstairs again and grabbed a banana for the car ride. I figured that it wasn't a good idea to go without something in my stomach before I headed to therapy.

I walked to my Volvo and got in. I inhaled deeply; I could still smell Bella in the car. It helped comfort the nerves that were beginning to show themselves.

I drove to the therapy place and got out of the car. Without the comfort of Bella's smell, my nerves were extremely high. I knew that this session would not be as easy as the last session was. Still, I knew that I needed to face my past before I could get on with my future.

I walked into Dr. Clearwater's waiting room and walked up to Mrs. Cope.

"Good afternoon," I said, trying to be polite. "I'm Edward Cullen here for my appointment with Dr. Clearwater."

"Oh good!" she said, a little too enthusiastically. "Actually, Dr. Clearwater seems to be running a bit behind schedule with a patient, so if you could please wait over there" – she pointed to the chairs – "then he'll be right with you."

I nodded and walked over to the chairs, feeling her eyes on me.

I decided to text Bella so that I would calm down more. She always seemed to know what to say to make me feel better.

"I'm nervous about my therapy session," I texted her.

Not even thirty seconds later did I get her response.

"Try to not think about the session so much," she texted back. "Try to think of all of the good things that will come out of you dealing with your past. I love you."

I thanked her and took her advice. I thought about how much nicer it would be to not have to travel back and forth to see Bella. I could see her everyday. I could start a family with her and live in a nice house.

I was briefly overwhelmed by the thought of starting a family with her. It wasn't something that I had ever thought about before. My mind was assaulted with a picture with Bella by my side and a beautiful baby girl in my arms. It was possibly the most beautiful thing that I had ever seen.

A tear slid down my cheek as I thought about the beautiful baby boy or girl that I would've had with Tanya. The child that I would never see or get to know; the child that I would never get to be a father to.

"Mr. Cullen?" Mrs. Cope asked uncertainly.

I looked up at her expectantly, my mind still elsewhere.

"Dr. Clearwater is ready to see you now," she said.

I nodded and walked towards the office. My mind was too preoccupied to realize where I was going and what was about to happen.

Dr. Clearwater took one look at me and realized that something was wrong. I could tell that my eyes were greener than usual. That usually happened to me when I cried or was really sad about something.

"Do you want to talk about it?" he asked.

I shook my head and sat down on the couch and crossed my legs and folded my hands in my lap. I vaguely noticed that he was writing in his notebook.

"What _do_ you want to talk about?" he asked me.

"I don't know," I said glumly.

"Well why don't we start with how you and Tanya met?" he suggested. "Are you okay with that?"

I took a deep breath and talked monotonously. "It was my freshman year at Northwestern. I came home for winter break to visit my family. They were all happy to see me, but for different reasons. Carlisle was enthralled that I was doing so well in my pre-med courses, but he wanted me to help him at the hospital while I was there. Esme was worried that I was over-working myself in my classes and she could tell that I was unhappy. Alice was in her senior year of high school, so she was glad to have one of her older brothers there; Emmett was busy training for football, so he couldn't come.

"I spent time with my family, but I mostly spent my time at a little coffee shop that I had always liked to go to in high school. One day, while I was ordering my coffee, a beautiful woman walked in to order a latte. She was tall and slender and wore a white sweater and jeans. She had strawberry blonde curls and deep blue eyes.

"We struck up a conversation while our drinks were being made and I felt that she was very easy to talk to. I asked her if she would like to drink her coffee with me. She accepted and we talked about anything that popped into our minds.

"We stayed long after our drinks were finished because neither of us seemed to want to go. The manager of the store actually had to come up to us and tell us to leave because they were closing. I didn't want to loose touch with her, so we exchanged phone numbers."

Dr. Clearwater wrote while I was telling the story. My mind kept going back to the night where she confessed what she did. I felt the familiar feelings of anger and hurt go through my body and I stopped talking. Dr. Clearwater noticed this and looked up at me.  
"You're doing great, Edward," he told me. "I'm sure that this is difficult for you to talk about. Would you like to talk about something else, now?"

"What do you want me to talk about?" I asked.

"Why don't you talk a little more about Bella?" he suggested.

I immediately perked up as I thought about Bella.

"Things are going really well with her," I told him. "She stayed over at my house last night and it was amazing. Things are going so smoothly with her. She's so understanding and compassionate and loving and I know that I don't deserve her, but I'm too selfish to push her away. I know that I could never leave her because I love her too damn much."

"What makes you think that Bella is different from Tanya?" he asked after writing in his notebook.

"Tanya is a lot more self-centered than Bella is," I told him. "Bella is the most selfless person I've ever known besides my mother. Bella knows how hurt I was with what Tanya did to me and her reaction told me that she would never do that to me."

"Well I hope that you are right," he said. "I was actually thinking about maybe doing a session with the two of you together. What do you think?"

"I'd have to ask her, but I think that she would accept," I told him. "I'm planning on taking her to dinner tonight, so I can bring it up then."

I thought of ways that I could incorporate his question into our conversation. I didn't forget about the promise ring that I was going to give her. I wondered if it was going to be too much for her.

"That sounds like a great idea," he said. "Well, Edward, I think that you are going on the right path right now. Bella seems to be better for you than I originally anticipated. That's really good; you need someone to lean on as you divulge into your past. Our time is up, but please try to ask her."

"I will," I told him. "I'll see you at the next session."

He nodded and I walked out of his office filled with mixed emotions. I went to the bathroom that was there and washed off my face so nobody would notice that I had been crying. That would just be embarrassing.

I got in my car and drove towards the jewelry store. I pulled into the parking lot and got out. I walked inside and was overwhelmed by all of the jewelry I saw. There were diamonds and sapphires and rubies and every other stone imaginable. There were necklaces and bracelets and rings and earrings.

"May I help you?" a woman named Maria asked.

"Actually yes," I told her politely. "I would like to get a ring for my girlfriend as a promise ring. I know that we aren't ready to get married yet, but I want to give her something that tells her that I plan on asking her in the future because I know that she is the one for me. I looked on your website and found the perfect one."

"That's really sweet," she said. "What did it look like?"

"The band was silver and the diamond was heart-shaped," I said.

"Oh! I know what one you are talking about," she said before walking over to a set of engagement rings. She pulled out the ring and I knew that it was the one. It was even more beautiful in person.

"That's the ring," I told her.

"Okay," she said. "Do you know what size her fingers would be?"

I froze because I didn't think about that. How was I supposed to know that?

"I actually don't know, but I know someone who would know," I said.

She nodded and I called Alice.

"Hey, Edward," she said. "What's up?"

"I'm at the jewelry store and I found the ring," I told her. "You were right; it's perfect."

"I'm glad that you like it," she said. "What size did you get for her?"

"That's actually why I called you," I informed her. "I don't know what size to get her."

"She's a size 6," she told me.

"Thank you," I said gratefully. "I will be home in a little bit."

"Okay, I'll see you then," she said before hanging up.

"I would like a size 6, please," I told Maria.

"Okay," she said before putting the ring in a black velvet box. "That'll be $19,200. We can work on a payment plan if you can't pay right now."

"No, that won't be an issue," I said with a smile.

I handed her my credit card and she scanned it. She handed it back to me along with the ring. I put the ring in my pant pocket.

"It was a pleasure doing business with you, Mr. Cullen," she said. "Good luck with your

girlfriend.

"Thank you," I said before walking out of the store.

I headed home, excited for what was going to happen later that night.


	30. Preparing for the Big Date

**A/N I fail and I'm sorry! I know that I said that I would get this up on Sunday and today is Monday. Life got in the way of that. Hopefully you guys are having a good Labor Day and this helps make it more fun.**

**The response to last chapter made me feel a lot better. I really appreciate F21496, lilquackers77, RedneckAngel, Bloody Ale, and emmybaby for reviewing. It makes me feel all warm and tingly inside and makes me feel more confident in my writing.**

**Disclaimer: Twilight isn't mine. Duh.**

BPOV

I got off the phone really excited for my date with Edward. I was sure that he saw right through me on my dislike of surprises, but I was planning on keeping up the pretense for as long as I could.

I started getting hungry, and wondered if Rosalie was hungry as well. I walked upstairs and knocked on Rosalie's door. She opened the door and had her phone up to her ear.

"I'm sorry," I told her. "I can come back later."

"It's cool, Bella," she said. "What's up?"

"I was getting hungry and I wondered if you wanted me to make you something," I said.

Rosalie paused and listened to whoever was on the phone.

"Actually, I'm on the phone with Alice and she's offering to take us both to lunch," she said.

"Tell her that I would love that, but I'm paying," I told her.

Rosalie repeated what I said and laughed at whatever Alice said to her.

"She says, and I quote, 'there is no way on God's green earth that I will let you pay'," Rosalie said.

I rolled my eyes at what she said. I decided to let it go and I agreed.

Rosalie and Alice continued making plans and I sat on her bed. Rosalie hung up and looked at me.

"Okay, we have little over an hour to get ready, which isn't much time, but we'll make it work," Rosalie said. "Go take a shower and I'll get an outfit ready for you."

I left the room and got in the shower. I was excited to have a girls' night with Rosalie and Alice before I went to dinner with Edward. I was hoping to get Alice to tell me what Edward was doing. I knew that it was slim, but I would try.

I got out of the shower and put a towel around my head and a towel around my body. I walked into my room and there was a white t-shirt and blue jeans and undergarments. I put them on and walked to Rosalie's room.

She told me to sit down and she started blow drying my hair. When she finished she put on some lip gloss. I thanked her and she told me to go downstairs to wait for Alice. I only had to wait for five minutes before Alice showed up and engulfed me into a huge hug.

"I've missed you so much, Bella!" she exclaimed while she squeezed me.

I winced in pain because – although she didn't look it – she was incredibly strong.

"I've missed you too, Alice," I told her honestly.

"I am so excited for today," she told me while letting me go. "I haven't gotten the chance to see you and Rose that much." She gave the most heartbreaking face when she said that.

"We have to make sure that we schedule more girls' nights," I suggested.

"Definitely!" Alice agreed.

Rosalie came downstairs a few minutes later in dark blue skinny jeans, and a black t-shirt. It was a very casual outfit, yet Rosalie made it seem like she could walk down a runway in it.

"Where do you guys want to go?" Alice asked us.

"Ooh!" I exclaimed. "Do you guys want to go to Steak 'N' Shake?"

Alice literally started bouncing in excitement and I couldn't help but giggle at her.

"That sounds good, Bella," Rosalie said while smiling at Alice's reaction.

We walked outside and got in Alice's Porsche. Alice turned on the radio and "Obsessed" by Mariah Carey was playing.

"You know, Bella," Rosalie said while turning around to face me. "This song totally describes Mike. Don't you think?"

I listened to the lyrics and – sure enough – they described him perfectly. I thought back to that day at Scotties and shivered at the possessiveness and decided to start trying to get information out of Alice.

"So Alice – just out of curiosity – why is Edward taking me out to dinner?" I asked.

She seemed to choose her words carefully as she said, "He has something that he wants to tell you."

"You're not going to elaborate, are you?" I assumed.

"Nope," she said simply.

I decided to let it go; for now. There was plenty of time to interrogate her later about it.

We drove into the parking lot and got out of the car. We walked inside and waited behind an old couple who was holding hands and looking into each other's eyes lovingly.

"You know, I hope that Jasper and I are like that when we are older," Alice said quietly. "To still be passionately in love after so many years."

"Yeah, same here," I sighed. I pictured Edward and me with grey hair, sitting on our porch surrounded by our grandchildren. It was a very beautiful picture and I really hoped that it would become reality someday.

"Same here," Rosalie agreed.

The elderly couple got seated and then we got seated. We sat at a booth with Rosalie and me on one side and Alice on the other. We all ordered chocolate milkshakes to drink and steakburgers and fries to eat.

We chat for a little while until our food arrived. We abandoned all conversation because we were all so hungry. I was really glad that Alice invited us and I voiced those opinions.

"It's no problem," Alice said. "Like I told you, I really missed you guys. We need to vow that we have a girls' night at least twice a month."

"I agree," Rosalie said. "We could do a sleepover and do makeovers and talk about our men."

"Oh, my God!" Alice exclaimed. "That would be so much fun! We could have the sleepover at my place and the guys could have a 'boys' night' or something. Some male bonding or something of the sort."

"I think that sounds like a good idea," I said. "I just hope that they bond as much as the three of us have."

"I know they will," Alice said. "They will do all sorts of guy things and they will bond easily. They'll be like the Three Musketeers."

I giggled and said, "That's what they should be for Halloween this year: the Three Musketeers."

"I love it!" Alice yelled. Rosalie and I shushed her because half of the restaurant was staring at us. "Oh, my God! We should do matching costumes this year! Each couple picks a theme like Superman and Lois Lane or something. What do you think?"

"I think that it sounds like a lot of fun," I said.

"Me too," Rosalie agreed.

We planned out some possible costume ideas. Alice told us that she would make the costumes. We came up with all kinds of costumes and laughed at the sillier ideas.

"Are you guys ready to go?" I asked after we were done brainstorming ideas.

The girls nodded and we got up to leave. Alice let me put the tip on the table before we left. I secretly left a little more money than I should to make up for the fact that I got conned out of paying for the food.

We got back in the car and headed back to the apartment. We talked about silly things until we got to the apartment. Alice parked the car and we walked inside the apartment.

"Okay guys," Alice announced. "We have four hours before Edward is coming to pick Bella up. I think that we should allot an hour and a half to getting her ready. What do you guys want to do in the meantime?"

"We could watch a movie," Rosalie suggested.

"That works," I said. Alice nodded her head and I walked up to our dvd collection.

"What kind of movie are you guys in the mood for?" I asked them.

"I think that we should watch a chick flick," Alice said. "That way we can get Bella into the romantic mood for Edward."

I blushed at what she was insinuating. I loved my friends to death, but I really wished that they would stop bringing up my and Edward's sex life.

I looked at the movies and pulled out "Notting Hill." I had always had a soft spot for that movie.

I put them movie in and the three of us sat on my couch because it faced the television.

"Do you guys want some popcorn?" I asked.

"Of course!" Alice said. "It's sacrilegious to watch a movie and not eat popcorn, silly."

I got up and started making popcorn. I had seen the movie numerous times, so I didn't need to see the screen to know what was happening.

I put the popcorn in the microwave and grabbed three bowls while it was popping. When it was done, I pulled the popcorn out and opened it. I set it down so that it could cool down for a little bit. When I decided that it was cooled down, I put an equal amount in the bowls. I grabbed salt and put it in mine and I put garlic powder in Rosalie's. Realizing that I didn't know what Alice wanted, I walked back into the living room where the girls were attentively watching the movie.

"Hey Alice?" I asked her. "What do you like in your popcorn?"

"Um, just put a little salt in it, please," Alice said.

I walked back in the kitchen and put a little salt in Alice's. I grabbed Rosalie's and Alice's and handed it to them. They thanked me and started munching their popcorn. I walked back to the kitchen and grabbed my popcorn and walked back to the couch.

While the movie was playing, I thought back to a time before Edward. I remembered secretly wishing that my life would play out like it did in the movie; that some famous actor would come into my life and sweep me off of my feet. I thought that it was the perfect reality.

The perfect reality, however, was the reality that I was experiencing. Edward was just perfect for me. He took care of me and listened to me. He paid attention to the little things in life and took nothing for granted. I knew that he had some skeletons in his closet to deal with, but I knew that when he did, our future together could truly begin.

When the movie ended, Alice declared that it was time to go upstairs and find the perfect dress. We walked into Rosalie's room and looked at the dresses that she had there.

"The dress that I am imagining is black, floor length, and a halter dress," Alice announced while we were looking.

A few minutes later, Rosalie exclaimed, "I found it!"

She pulled out a beautiful, floor length black dress. The dress was cinched at the waist and looked form-fitting.

"That's perfect!" Alice said excitedly. "Now, we need to get her a sexy lingerie set to go underneath."

Rosalie looked through her dresser and pulled out a very sexy black lingerie set. The bra was low cut and lightly padded and the underwear was a pair of boy shorts.

"This is so cute!" Alice exclaimed. "We need shoes."

Rosalie walked to her closet and pulled out a cute pair of black pumps. The heel wasn't too outrageous, so I decided that I wouldn't make a fuss about them.

"This entire outfit is perfect," Alice said. Rosalie nodded her head in agreement. "Okay, Bella, we need you to get dressed. Rose and I will get the hair and make up ready."

"Thank you," I said before they left the room.

I changed out of my clothes and pulled on the lingerie. I realized that I didn't feel uncomfortable in it; I felt sexy. I unzipped the dress and pulled it on and zipped it up. I sat on her bed so that I could put the black heels on.

I walked over to the girls and they gasped when they saw me.

"Bella, you look stunning," Rosalie said.

"Definitely," Alice agreed. "You look like you could be on a runway!"

I blushed at their compliments. I looked at myself and I saw that I looked good, but I wouldn't go so far as to say that I was model material.

They ordered me to sit down while they worked. Alice put some foundation on my face, a touch of blush, some smoky eye shadow, and red lipstick. Rosalie pulled most of my hair up and pinned it. She left some hair down so that they cascaded around my face and shoulders. She curled those pieces so that they were loose curls.

They told me to stand up and they walked away from the mirrors. I gasped at what I saw; I looked beautiful. I actually felt beautiful and my eyes started welling up with tears.

"Thank you guys, so much," I said. "I look beautiful."

"Stop crying or you'll mess up your new face," Alice said with tears in her own eyes.

I gave each girl a hug and we walked downstairs. We talked and waited for Edward to arrive. Fifteen minutes later we heard a knock at the door and I didn't need a psychic to tell me who was on the other side of that door.

Rosalie walked to the door and opened it. Edward was standing at the door in a crisp black suit with a white button down shirt and a black tie. He had a handkerchief in his pocket and his shoes were shiny and black. He looked even more stunning; and I didn't know that it was possible.

I walked up to the door and Edward's jaw literally dropped and his eyes darkened at the sight of me. I gave him what I hoped was an alluring smile.

"Are you ready to go, Edward?" I asked. I wasn't sure that he was able to talk.

He closed his jaw and nodded. He grabbed my hand and we walked outside towards his Vanquish.

I could not wait for this date.


	31. The Big Date EPOV

**A/N: So, I think that I can officially throw the schedule out. My life seems to dictate that I should not update on the days that I said I would. I am sincerely sorry that it didn't work out; I epically fail.**

**Alice-Rathbone-is-my-real-name, emmybaby, Bloody Ale, F21496, lilquackers77, and ..: You guys are absolutely incredible. Thank you so much for brightening my day with your wonderful reviews. I appreciate each and every one of them.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight. I do own four iPods and four clarinets. (Don't ask why…people just buy me them.)**

EPOV

I drove home after purchasing the ring. I instinctively knew that Alice would be waiting for me to see the ring. Sure enough, as I pulled into the garage, Alice was literally jumping up and down with excitement as she waited for me.

"Let me see it!" she squealed the second that my door was opened.

Chuckling slightly, I pulled the small, velvet box out of my pocket and handed it to her.

"Ooh," she said. "It's even prettier in person. I am _so_ good!"

I laughed at her lack of modesty and held my hand out, silently asking for the box back. I knew it was silly, but I didn't want it out of my possession unless it was on Bella's finger.

We walked together to the house and walked to the living room. Alice sat on one of the big, brown chairs and I sat on the couch.

"So Edward," she started. "Have you thought about what you are going to say?"

"Um, not really," I admitted. "I was more nervous about getting the ring than I was of figuring out what I was going to say."

"Well I can help," Alice offered. "Tell me some things that you want to include."

"Well, before I do anything else, I need to ask her about doing a joint session with Dr. Clearwater; he wants to meet her," I said, staring at the floor to help me collect my thoughts. "I want to tell her that this ring shows that I want to spend the rest of my life with her, even though neither of us is ready for that. I want her to know that I am completely committed to our relationship. I want to tell her how much I love her. I want to tell her that she is beautiful both inside and outside. I want to tell her how glad I am that I met her. I want to tell her how much she has impacted my life."

I realized that I was rambling on and stopped talking. Alice looked at me with tears in her eyes.

"That is possibly the most beautiful thing that I have ever heard you say, Edward," Alice informed me. "Well, first, I think that you should get the therapy question out sooner rather than later; possibly when you are waiting for your food."

I nodded while she talked. She rattled off possible ways of my "proposition." I considered each of them, but then I realized that I needed to just tell her how I felt.

"That's the best way," Alice said. "I'm really proud of you, Edward."

I smiled at her and she smiled back. It was a really nice moment. She proceeded to tell me that she needed to call the girls and get ready.

"I'll put your outfit on your bed," Alice said before she left.

I decided to call the restaurant and make reservations for tonight. I dialed the number and waited.

"La Bella Italia," the voice said. "This is Irina."

"Hi Kate," I said. "May I please have reservations for two for tonight?"

"Oh," she said, "we actually are booked for tonight. I'm sorry."

I started panicking; I hadn't expected that to happen.

"You don't understand," I said. "I will pay extra for the reservation."

"How much are we talking?" she asked.

"Any amount," I said. "You name the price and I will pay it."

"I can cancel one of our reservations at seven," she said. "It will cost you $100."

"Okay," I said. "Oh, the name is Cullen."

"Okay, Mr. Cullen," she said. "We will see you then."

I hung up the phone, irritated at the situation. She was very unprofessional; I would have to talk to the manager sometime about that.

I realized that I had a lot of time to kill and decided to work on Esme's song. I walked down to the basement and warmed up with some scales. Then I played Bella's Lullaby and relished in its beauty.

I could almost feel Bella's presence while I played her song. I smiled as I remembered her reaction as I played it for her for the first time. How happy she looked while I played the song for her. How lovingly she looked at me. I remembered thinking that there was no way that she could love me as much as I loved her. I decided that her response at dinner would tell me if she loved me as much as I loved her.

I started playing a song that reminded me of Esme. I made the notes very light and happy because Esme was such a happy person. I thought of how she always believed in me and never gave up on me, even in my darkest time. I thought of how she was always there for me, even though I couldn't tell her what really happened. I thought of how she accepted Bella so easily; like she was one of her daughters.

I concluded the song with bright chords. I couldn't help but smile as I thought about the song. I knew that Esme would love it. I just hoped that it would help her see how much I love her and was grateful for everything that she had done for me.

I got off of the bench and walked upstairs to make myself a sandwich. I grabbed a plate, turkey, cheese, lettuce, tomato, mayonnaise, and wheat bread. I started making the sandwich on the plate.

When I was done, I decided to go upstairs and watch a movie to pass the time. I entered my room and set the sandwich on my bed. I walked over to my movie collection. I decided to watch "Tommy Boy". I put it in the dvd player and turned the television. I walked back to my bed and started eating the sandwich.

When the movie ended, I got off my bed and turned off the movie. I took my plate downstairs to the kitchen and washed it off. I felt a little lonely without Bella with me.

I walked back upstairs but I went to Alice's door. I knocked on the door and hoped that she was still home because she hadn't picked out my outfit yet. Unfortunately for me, she wasn't in her room, so I walked back to my room and walked to my closet. I looked through the clothes I had. I thought back to what Alice usually dressed me in when we were going somewhere fancy: a black suit, black tie, black shoes, white shirt, and a handkerchief. I pulled those out and laid them out on my bed. I left my room and walked to the bathroom to get another shower.

I got out of the shower and wrapped a towel around my waist. I walked back into my bedroom and put on the suit. I started getting nervous because I hadn't thought of what I was going to say. I ran over things in my head, but nothing seemed right. I decided that I was just going to wing it; just be completely honest and sincere.

I grabbed the ring and put it in my pocket before walking downstairs. I left the house and walked towards my car. I took two deep breaths before starting the car. I turned on some classical music and pulled out of the driveway to Bella's apartment. I parked my car and walked to the door. I took another two deep breaths before knocking on the door. Rosalie opened the door and smiled at me and gave me a wink. Bella walked into my peripheral vision and I was literally stunned.

She was wearing a floor length black dress that showed off her curves and made her neck look long and elegant. Her hair was pinned up with a few curls that framed her face. Her eyes stood out and her perfectly plump lips were painted red. I had always known that she was beautiful, but she was literally stunning. I vaguely noticed that my jaw was opened.

"Are you ready to go, Edward?" she asked uncertainly.

I closed my jaw and nodded my head. I grabbed her hand and walked her to my car.

"You look absolutely stunning, Bella," I said before opening her door.

"Thank you," she said before getting in the car.

I walked over to the driver's side and got in. I could feel the nerves take over my body. Bella seemed to notice this and grabbed my hand and rubbed soothing circles on it. I smiled at her and drove us to the restaurant. I parked the car and walked over to Bella's door and opened it for her. She got out of the car and held hands with me as we walked to the restaurant. We walked up to the maitre d.

"Reservations for Cullen," I said.

The woman's eyes lit up as she realized who we were. I mentally rolled my eyes at her.

She led us to the back of the restaurant and told us that our waitress would be with us shortly.

"This place is beautiful," Bella said in awe.

"I'm glad that you like it," I said.

We looked at the menus in silence. I decided on Spaghetti Carbonara.

The waitress walked up to our table and introduced herself as Kate. Bella ordered the mushroom ravioli and I gave her my order.

"So how was your time with the girls?" I asked once Kate left.

"It was a lot of fun," she said excitedly. "We went to lunch at Steak 'N' Shake. We planned get-togethers for the future. We watched a movie and ate popcorn, and then they helped get me ready for tonight."

"I'm glad that you had fun," I said. "Alice was so excited to be able to see you guys again, so I think it's a great idea that you were planning to hang out in the future."

"We were also talking about the guys having a get-together," she added.

"I think that could work," I said. Jasper was a pretty cool guy, and hanging out with him would allow me to make sure that he was good for my sister.

The waitress came back with our food. I took one bite and thought that it was very good. Bella's small moan seconded my thought.

Halfway through the meal, I decided that I should suck up the courage to ask her about the promise ring.

"Bella?" I asked.

She looked up at me and I found myself distracted by her eyes.

"Yes, Edward?" she prompted when I didn't say anything.

"I was wondering if you could come to a therapy session with me." I asked. "Dr. Clearwater wants to meet you."

I mentally scolded myself; that was not what I meant to say.

"Yeah, of course," she said.

"Great," I said before taking another bite of my food.

I continued eating my food, slowly gathering up the courage to ask her about the promise ring. When we finished eating, I decided to ask her.

"Bella," I asked again.

"Yes, Edward?" she repeated.

"Well, first of all, I would like to thank you for coming to dinner with me," I said.

"Of course, Edward," she said. "Thank you for inviting me."

"You're welcome," I said. I took a deep breath before continuing. "There was actually a reason why I invited you."

I couldn't continue; I was too nervous. I was sure that my face showed it. Bella grabbed my hand and silently urged me to continue.

"Before I met you, I was broken," I said. "My life was like a moonless night. Very dark, but there were stars – points of reason that made me want to keep living. But then you shot across my sky like a meteor, and brightened it. My entire outlook on life has changed because of you. I now see the glass half full. I see that you must do the things that you love to do. You have to open up to people and allow yourself to be vulnerable to be truly happy. And you have done that for me; made me happy. I love you for accepting me with all of my faults, even though I know that you deserve so much better than me. I want to be with you for the rest of my life. I want to grow old with you and have children with you."

I got out of my chair and reached into my pocket. I got on one knee and said, "Isabella Marie Swan, will you marry me?"

_Uh oh...oops._


	32. The Big Date Pt 2 EPOV

**A/N Holy Crow! (as Bella would say) You are incredible. Last chapter was by far the most reviewed chapter and I am so happy.  
****Thank you to luv4edwardcullen, TeamEdward2009, lilquackers77, Alice-Rathbone-is-my-real-name, Bloody Ale, luver of all fall out boy (it won't let me put your name correctly; sorry), justafan00, RedneckAngel, emmybaby, TwiHappy, and Talia Taylor for not only reviewing, but helping me with this chapter. I considered all of your opinions and used some of them. I really appreciate your help and I hope you like what I wrote.**

**Disclaimer: Although I could legally change my name to Stephenie Meyer, I would not own Twilight; just thought I would let you know.**

EPOV

_I got out of my chair and reached into my pocket. I got on one knee and said, "Isabella Marie Swan, will you marry me?"_

_Uh oh…oops_

I realized what I had said and froze. Bella looked back at me, her eyes widened in shock as she registered what I had just proposed.

"Edward, I-I don't know what to say," she stuttered.

"I'm sorry, Bella," I said genuinely. "This wasn't supposed to happen like this."

"What do you mean?" she asked, confused.

"I do want to marry you," I told her, "just not yet. I am so sorry that my unresolved issues are holding us back." I opened the ring and pulled it out. "This ring was meant to be a promise ring; something to show you that, although I don't think that we are ready to be engaged, I do want to marry you someday. You know, it's hard for me to believe that we've only been together for a few weeks because I feel like I can tell you anything. Everything that I said to you is true; you have changed me in so many ways and I do want to be with you for the rest of my life. I love you more than words and I hope you know that."

"I understand, Edward," Bella said. "I agree with you on the fact that we aren't ready to be engaged just yet. I think that we should wait until you can get over what Tanya did to you. I think that we should talk to Dr. Clearwater at our appointment and see what he thinks about us getting engaged. In the meantime, I accept your promise ring."

My body registered the fact the she said yes before my brain did. I got off of my knee and kissed her passionately. She responded immediately and we kissed for an immeasurable amount of time. I pulled away and grabbed her hand, putting the ring on her ring finger.

"I love you, Bella," I said.

"I love you, too, Edward," she replied while looking at her ring. It was a perfect fit, just like I thought that it would be.

"Would you like to get out of here?" I asked.

"Yes," she answered looking back at me.

I put some money on the table, not caring about the change. We gathered our things and left the restaurant.

We got in the car and drove back to Bella's apartment. I noticed out of the corner of my eye that Bella kept glancing at her ring and smiling. I parked the car and walked her to the door.

"Thank you, so much – for everything," Bella said.

"There's no need to thank me," I told her. "I love you; there's nothing I wouldn't do for you."

"I love you, too," she said with a smile.

I leaned down to kiss her with passion. I ran my tongue along her bottom lip and she opened her mouth for me. I caressed her tongue with my own before plunging into her mouth. I groaned as I tasted her; she was delicious. I only pulled away when I heard two giggles from the doorway.

"Why hello Edward," Alice said knowingly with her eyebrows raised and her hands on her hips. Rosalie was looking over Alice's shoulder with a huge smirk on her face. "Why don't you come inside?"

I exchanged a look with Bella; this was going to be one hell of an interrogation.

We walked inside and sat on Bella's couch while Alice and Rosalie sat on the other couch. I grabbed Bella's hand and squeezed it gently in support.

"So, guys," Alice started, "how was dinner?"

"It was good," I told her, deciding to keep it safe. "Nice environment and delicious food."

"Good, good," Rosalie said while nodding her head. "So what did you guys talk about?"

I couldn't help but feel like this conversation was rehearsed on their end.

"Well, Bella told me about what you guys did all day," I told her. "She told me about how you guys wanted me and the guys to have a get-together. I asked if she would come to a session with me and she accepted."

Alice and Rosalie exchanged a look before turning to Bella.

"So Bella," Rosalie said with a glint in her eyes. "I see you have a new piece of jewelry on your hand. Why don't you show it to us?"

Bella looked down at our hands and blushed; she hadn't realized that her ring was visible to Alice and Rosalie. I released her hand and showed the girls the ring. Rosalie took Bella's hand and examined the ring meticulously.

"It's beautiful," Rosalie said. "So, I know that there's a story behind how this happened. Spill it."

Bella sighed and said, "While we were at dinner, Edward got up and said that he had something that he wanted to tell me. He thanked me for coming to dinner with him and told me that he had an ulterior motive. He got down on one knee and said that, although we aren't quite ready to be engaged yet, he wanted something that said that he wanted to be with me forever. I accepted and he put the ring on my finger and kissed me. It was all very romantic."

I was thankful for the fact that Bella didn't mention my slip up. That would have been extremely embarassing for me.

Alice and Rosalie sighed happily simultaneously and giggled as they realized that they had the same reaction.

"That sounds so sweet," Rosalie said. "I'm so happy for you guys."

"Me too," Alice added. "You guys are so cute together and I'm glad that you found each other."

They got off the couch and gave us both a hug. I was surprised, but responded in both hugs. I whispered my thanks to each of them.

"Well, we're going to let the two of you do your thing," Alice said. "Edward, let me know if you are coming home or if you are spending the night here."

I caught Alice's eye and nodded, telling her that I was planning on spending the night. Alice winked at me before walking towards the door. Rosalie got up and walked with her, and they left us with the apartment to ourselves.

Without warning, I picked Bella up bridal style. She giggled as I walked her up the stairs. I set her down gently on the bed and adjusted us so that we were snuggled together.

"As much as I would love to lie like this forever," Bella said, "we are still in our nice clothes. I'm going to go change; you can too if you want."

She got off the bed and walked to the closet. I watched her until she got to the closet. I couldn't help it; she looked incredible.

I kicked my shoes off and took off the jacket. I decided that I was just going to sleep in boxers; I was comfortable enough with Bella to do that. I stripped down to my boxers and got under the covers, waiting for her to return.

Bella reappeared in a tank top and short boy shorts. She looked so incredibly sexy and she wasn't even trying. It was just one of the many things that I loved about her.

She walked over to me and got under the covers. We adjusted ourselves so that we were spooning.

"Good night, Bella," I said. "Thank you for making tonight the best night of my existence."

"No, Edward, thank you," she replied. "You have made me so happy; I love you."

"I love you, too," I said before kissing her neck gently. "Goodnight."

She sighed contentedly and I closed my eyes.

I was the luckiest bastard on the planet; and I loved it.


	33. Lemonade, Breakfast, and Dinner Plans

**A/N I have a confession to make: I am a victim of writer's block. It's true; I tried for a while to get this chapter out, but I couldn't get the words to sound right. I decided to work on my other story, "The Lion, the Lamb, and the Wolf" for a little while. Then, all of a sudden, I was inspired to write this chapter. I can't explain to you guys how my mind works, but it made sense to me. So this story is not on hiatus or anything; I just had a long case of writer's block. I'm sorry for any confusion that it may have caused you to have.**

**Unfortunately for you guys, my computer is being very messed up, so I guess I won't be able to update as frequently as I thought. I feel really bad about that, and I hope that you guys don't let that deter you from my story...**

**Next, thank you so much to justafan00, Talia Taylor, lilquackers77, Bloody Ale, luv4edwardcullen, luver of all fall out boy, TwiHappy, emmybaby, and Dimitri'sLove2381 for reviewing. It means a lot to me that you like this story.**

**So to thank you all for sticking with me, I've decided to write a lemon for you guys. (collective cheers) I love you, horn dogs. ;D**

**Oh, is anybody going to the midnight premire of _NEW MOON_? Because I am, and I'm so freaking excited! Just thought that I would let you guys know...:D**

**And BTW, if you want to check out my other story here's the link:**

**www(dot)fanfiction(dot)net/s/5308083/1/The_Lion_the_Lamb_and_the_Wolf**

**Disclaimer: Although I own copies of the series, I do not own Twilight.**

BPOV

I woke up feeling blissfully happy next to the most wonderful man ever. I couldn't believe how fortunate I was to be with Edward. He was exactly what I didn't know I was looking for.

I looked at his sleeping form. His hair was as disheveled as ever and there was a light stubble on his face. I ran my fingers across his face lightly, giggling lightly as his stubble tickled my fingers. Edward sighed contentedly and continued sleeping. I moved my hands to his hair and began running my fingers through it. Although it was very messy, it wasn't tangly.

"Edward," I said softly, "wake up."

Edward groaned and shook his head. He wrapped an arm around me and pulled me close to him. I squirmed to get out of his grasp, but he tightened his arm around me and added his other arm. He pulled me on top of him, keeping his arms around me.

"Now I know for a fact that you aren't sleeping, Edward," I said.

He nodded his head, saying that he _was_ still sleeping. I giggled at him and tried to get out of his grasp again. His fingers started tickling me and I gasped in surprise.

"Edward," I said while laughing. "Edward, stop it."

He was relentless in his tickling of me. He tickled by my neck, my underarms, my sides, and my stomach. I decided that I was going to torture him a little bit, too. I spread my legs and squirmed so that I was on his hips. I felt his morning wood and I squirmed on it, creating a delicious friction.

Edward's eyes snapped open and were full of lust as he kept tickling me. I kept writhing on his erection, making us both moan at the contact. All that was blocking him from entering me was his boxers and my boy shorts.

Without warning, Edward flipped us over, putting me on my back and him hovering above me. He kissed me passionately while he supported his weight on his arms. I ran my hands up his arms and down his bare chest. I could feel his muscles contract while I touched them. I began toying with the hem of his boxers.

"Bella," Edward sighed, "we can't do this."

"We don't have to sex to show our love for each other," I pointed out before pulling his boxers down to show his massive erection. I had forgotten how big it was because it had been awhile since we had done anything sexually.

I ran my hand down his shaft, enjoying his groan. He continued kissing me as I stroked him. I gently used my nails as I moved my hand down. I broke away from Edward, leaving him looking confused.

"Get on your back," I ordered.

He was all too happy to oblige. I stalked my way towards him on the bed making eye contact with him the entire time. I blew cool air on his erection and smiled when it twitched. I opened my mouth and took his length in my mouth.

"God damn, Bella," Edward moaned, his eyes rolling to the back of his head as he hit my throat. "I'm not going to last long if you keep doing that."

I moaned at his words and pulled my head back all the way, using my tongue to play with the head before going back down. Edward's hands clenched themselves in my hair, creating a time that he liked. I gently used my teeth going up, and it didn't take long for Edward's climax to pulse through him.

"Fuck, Bella!" he exclaimed as he came. I kept bobbing my head while his cum spurted in my mouth, hoping to extend his orgasm. I swallowed and savored every last drop of his cum, licking my lips after I had swallowed all of it.

"Now, I believe, it is your turn," Edward said seductively.

He flipped us around so he was on top of me again and began kissing me passionately. He spread my legs and settled himself in between them. He began kissing a line down my cheek to my neck. He licked and sucked at the skin that connected my ear to my neck. I couldn't stop the moan that accompanied that move. He licked my ear and then bit it gently before moving back down to my neck. He began kissing down my chest, blowing cool air on my breasts making my nipples stand at attention for him. He kissed down my ribcage to my stomach before lifting my tank top up over my head. I lifted my arms to help him get the shirt off.

"Beautiful," he muttered before taking my left breast in his mouth. The suddenness of his attack made me gasp in surprise.

He swirled his tounge around my nipple before biting it lightly making me moan. He switched to my other breast, repeating his actions. He began kissing his way down my stomach, playing with the hem of my boyshorts.

"Please, Edward," I moaned, to horny to care that I was begging him to take the boyshorts off.

He laughed lightly as he took my boyshorts off. He blew cool air on my clit, making my body spasm lightly.

"Damn, Bella," he groaned, "you're soaking wet."

He ran his tongue all the way down my slit, making me writhe and moan in pleasure. He began sucking on my clit while he moved his hands up my thighs. He spread my legs further and inserted two fingers. He curled his fingers, trying to find my g-spot. I gasped and moaned when he found it. He kept sucking on my clit and rubbing my g-spot.

"Ah - fuck!" I yelled as I came violently.

Edward lapped up my juices like he was a man dying of thirst and was being offered water.

"God, I love you," I moaned after my body relaxed. I smiled at him with a lazy grin on my face.

"I love you, too," Edward said returning my smile. "Are you ready for some breakfast?"

"Are you kidding?" I asked. "I am a puddle of post-coital goo, so I couldn't move even if I wanted to."

"Well, why don't I make you breakfast in bed then?" Edward offered.

"You are the most wonderful person to walk the planet," I told him. "Thank you."

He kissed me lightly on the lips before getting out of bed and throwing his boxers and his white button down shirt on. I had to admit that he looked really sexy like that, but I was just a little biased.

"I love you," he said before walking out of the room.

I could barely think because of the most mind-blowing orgasm that Edward made me have. It didn't even seem fair that he could affect me so much. I just stared at the ceiling with a lazy smile. Part of me was a little self-conscious that I was naked, but I couldn't move a muscle.

Edward came upstairs with a tray with scrambled eggs, bacon, and toast; it looked and smelled delicious. I was suddenly struck with an idea.

"Edward," I said, "take your clothes off."

He looked at me like I had grown another head.

"We're going to have a naked picnic," I informed him.

His eyes got darker as he understood what I had said. Keeping eye contact with me, he slowly unbuttoned his shirt. I licked my lips subconsciously in anticipation. He got down to the last button and slowly pulled the shirt off and threw it. Then he got to his boxers and slowly pulled them down his toned legs and let them pool at his ankles. He walked over to the bed and sat next to me.

I managed to get myself into a sitting position. I was beginning to regain the function of my muscles. I grabbed a piece of bacon off the tray and munched on it lightly.

"Thank you, Edward," I said genuinely. "This is delicious and very thoughtful of you."

"Anytime," he said. "And I wouldn't mind if we did more naked picnics; I get to see your beautiful body."

I blushed at his compliment and said, "Well, I'm nothing compared to you. Your body is so perfectly toned and gorgeous."

He rolled his eyes at me and took a piece of toast and took a big bite out of it.

"So what do you want to do today?" I asked.

"Um, I'm not sure," he replied. "We have school tomorrow, so we shouldn't do anything too crazy. Maybe we could watch movies here or at my place. Actually, my place would be better because I don't really feel like wearing a suit all day."

I laughed and said, "That's probably true. Well, let me change into some real clothes and pull my hair into a ponytail and we can leave."

I walked over to my closet and grabbed a black t-shirt and dark jeans. I realized that I had some laundry that I needed to do because my clothes supply was lacking. I threw the clothes on and walked back to my bedroom, expecting Edward to be waiting for me; he was not.

I walked to the bathroom, thinking that he could be in there, but he wasn't there either. I brushed my hair and teeth before walking downstairs. I walked into the kitchen and saw Edward rinsing out our dishes from breakfast in his suit.

"Edward," I reprimanded, "you didn't have to do those; I could've done them."

"I know," he said, "but I wanted to."

"Well, can I help?" I asked.

"I'm almost done, but thank you," he said with a smile.

He dried off the plates and put them away before turning around to me with a mischievious smile. I raised my eyebrow questioningly and, before I knew it, he picked me up bridal style and walked me out of the kitchen.

"Do you have some sadistic pleasure in suprising me like that?" I huffed, wanting to cross my arms and pout.

"Possibly," he said, leaving it at that.

He walked me to his car like that, refusing to put me down until he got to the passenger door. He put me down and opened my door with a grin that I couldn't help but return.

We drove in a comfortable silence to Edward's house. I held his hand the whole way and smiled as I looked at my promise ring.

We pulled into his driveway and Edward parked the car next to Emmett's jeep. I knew not to get out immediately because he squeezed my hand lightly before exiting the car. He literally ran to the other side of the car to open my door. I blushed at his chivalry, although it was to be expected at that point. We held hands and walked to his house towards Edward's bedroom.

"Is there anything in particular that you want to watch?" Edward asked as we walked up the stairs.

"Um, let me wait until I see your collection before I shout out any movies," I replied.

Edward opened the door and I gasped at how striking his room was. Although it was not the first time I'd been in his room, I was struck by its beauty. I walked over to his giant movie collection and looked through the titles while Edward walked to his closet to change his clothes.

"Is it wrong that I kinda want to watch The Matrix?" I asked.

Edward chuckled and said from his closet, "not at all, Bella."

I grabbed the movie and put it in his DVD player. I waited for Edward to change into jeans and a black t-shirt before walking to his bed. We got it and adjusted ourselves so that we could get comfortable before Edward turned the movie on.

When the movie ended, we decided to put the second Matrix on, and when that one ended, we decided to put the third one on. By the time the third movie was done, my stomach was growling loudly.

"I guess it's time for lunch," he said.

"Actually, it's more like dinner," I said while looking at the time.

"I have an idea," he said. "Why don't we have another triple date, like we did before? We had a lot of fun last time, and we don't really see each other very often anymore."

"I think that's a great idea, Edward," I told him. "I'll call Rose and you call Alice."

Edward nodded and we both grabbed our cell phones.

"Hello?" Rosalie said when she picked up the phone. Her voice sounded breathless.

"Hey Rose," I said. "Edward and I were wondering if you and Emmett wanted to come over to dinner tonight. Alice and Jasper are hopefully coming, too."

Edward caught my attention and nodded, telling me that they were coming.

"Actually, scratch that," I said. "They _are_ coming over. So are you in?"

"Let me ask Emmett," she said before covering up the phone.

"He says yes, just as long as we play truth or dare," she said while laughing.

"I should have known that he'd be over there," I said, partially to myself. "Well, I'll play his stupid game if it gets him to come over."

"Awesome," Rosalie said. "What time should we come over?"

"I don't know," I replied. "Let me ask Edward."

"Edward," I asked him, "what time should they come over?"

"Um, how about six o'clock?" Edward offered.

"Does six o'clock work for you guys?" I asked Rosalie.

"Yeah, we'll be there," Rosalie told me. "Should we dress comfortably or fancy?"

"Well, I'm in jeans and a t-shirt, so I'd go with casual," I informed her.

"Okay, we'll see you then," Rosalie said before hanging up.

I waited for Edward to finish his conversation with Alice before walking up and giving him a chaste kiss on the lips.

"It appears that we have a lot to prepare for," I said before walking out of his room.

I couldn't wait to get this dinner party started.


	34. Truth or Dare

**A/N So I want to thank Dimitri'sLove2381, lilquackers77, LOVE IS A GIFT, elizabethmom05, Bloody Ale, and emmybaby for reviewing. Also, I want to give a special thanks to lilquackers77, Bloody Ale, and elizabethmom05 for giving me ideas for this chapter. I love you all.**

**New Moon = INCREDIBLE! I've seen it 3 times already and I'm in love with it. In the books, I was always Team Edward, but the movies make me become Team Jacob, which I never saw coming.**

**Oh, to all my American readers, Happy (early) Thanksgiving! I don't know about you guys, but I can't wait. I have already established to my family that tomorrow is a "No Calorie Day" so I won't feel guilty about eating 3,000 calories in one sitting.**

**Disclaimer: Twilight isn't mine. I wish it was, but it's not. :'(**

BPOV

Edward and I got to work on making food. I made Chicken Parmesan while Edward made homemade mashed potatoes and green beans. We maintained conversation while we cooked, talking about whatever popped into our minds.

Thirty-five minutes later, the Chicken Parmesan was finished. I pulled it out of the oven and set it on the counter. I asked Edward if he needed any help, but he assured me that he was fine.

At a quarter to six, Alice and Jasper showed up. They helped us set the table and pour the wine. We sat in the living room and chat while we waited for Rosalie and Emmett to show up. They showed up at six, and we all headed to the table. I dished everybody their food, giving Emmett extra because I knew that he would want more, before sitting down to eat.

"This is delicious, you guys," Alice said after taking a bite of the chicken.

"Thank you," Edward and I said in unison.

"So how have you guys been?" Alice asked the table.

"We've been busy," Rosalie said. "We have been, uh, discovering things about each other. It's been amazing."

It didn't take a genius to figure out what she was talking about, so we didn't comment any further.

"We've been pretty easygoing since the whole promise ring thing," Edward said. "I don't think either of us really wanted to get out of bed."

"We've also been pretty busy," Alice offered. "We've been on tons of dates and it's been great. I love him."

Rosalie and I "awwed" when Alice said that she loved him. They were just too adorable. It seemed like they were going to get engaged at any time.

We finished eating our food and walked to the living room. Edward, Rosalie, Emmett, and I sat on the couch and Alice and Jasper sat in the chairs.

"So what are the rules, guys?" Emmett asked us.

"Well, I don't think there should be any sexual dares," I said.

"Yeah, as much as I love you guys, I don't want to see you doing the nasty," Alice agreed.

"Fine, but only if we can still have sexual truths," Emmett said.

"Fine," Alice agreed. "What else can't we do?"

"We shouldn't do any truths that hurt anybody, either physically or emotionally," Edward said.

"That makes sense," Alice said. "Anything else?"

"We can't do anything illegal," Jasper said.

"Good point, Jazz," Alice said. "Okay, anything else?"

When nobody answered, Emmett said, "Let's get this party started!"

"Well, since this was Emmett's idea, I think that he should be the first person to choose somebody," Rosalie said.

"Okay, um, Eddie!" Emmett said. "Truth or dare?"

"You know I hate that name," Edward practically growled. "I'm going to go with a truth because I don't trust you."

"Fine, just ruin my fun," Emmett said with a pout. "Okay, I've got it! What is the naughtiest thing you have ever wanted to do to Bella?"

I blushed furiously, and I swore that I saw Edward's cheeks get red, too. Part of me didn't want to hear the answer, but part of me was morbidly curious.

"Do I seriously have to answer this, guys?" Edward asked the group.

When everybody but me nodded their heads, Edward sighed.

"I hate you all for this, just to let you know," he told the group. "Fine, the naughtiest thing I've ever wanted to do to Bella is to tie her arms and legs to the bed and make love to her until the bed brakes. Happy?"

"Sweetie, that's not making love," Alice said. "That's hot, steamy, fucking!"

"Okay, now that we've gotten that out of the way, it's your turn, Eddie!" Emmett said.

"Alice, truth or dare?" Edward asked.

"Dare!" Alice exclaimed.

"You have to go an entire month without shopping," Edward told her. "No online shopping, so sending someone else to shop for you; nothing!"

Alice burst into tears after hearing the dare.

"You wouldn't do that to me, Edward, would you?" she said with a pout. Her expression was absolutely heartbreaking, and I knew that I would have caved if it were me. Edward, however, was much stronger than I was.

"Yes, yes I would," he said with a satisfied smirk. "Okay, your turn Alice."

"Bella, truth or dare?" Alice asked me, all traces of her tears were gone.

"Truth," I said while everyone groaned.

"Lame, Bella," Alice said. "Okay then. If you had to make out with any of the girls in this room, who would it be?"

My jaw dropped at her truth. What was I supposed to say to that? It's not like I had ever thought about either of them that way.

"If I had to choose, it would probably be Rosalie because I've known her forever and I am comfortable enough with her," I said honestly.

"Is this something that we'd get to see sometime?" Emmett asked. Rosalie smacked him in the back of the head while the rest of us laughed.

"Bella's turn!" Alice said.

"Um, Emmett," I said. "Truth or dare?"

"DARE!" he bellowed.

"Okay, you have to let Rose and Alice give you a makeover," I told him.

"Ooh, this is gonna be fun!" Alice exclaimed as she got off her chair. Rosalie pulled Emmett off the couch and the three of them headed upstairs.

"I think you just made them the happiest people on the planet," Edward said, pulling me closer to him by wrapping an arm around my waist.

"I know," I said. "I just can't wait to see how he looks when they're done with him."

Ten minutes later, Alice and Rosalie walked down the stairs.

"May I introduce to you, the new and improved Emmett McCarty Cullen!" Alice said to the three of us.

Emmett walked down the stairs slowly until he reached the bottom of the stairs.

"So, how do I look?" Emmett asked us.

I burst into hysterical laughter. His hair was put in at least twenty small ponytails. He had bright blue eyeshadow, fake eyelashes, and heavy black eyeliner. They put heavy blush on his cheeks and red lipstick on his lips. His shirt was cut so that it had a huge scoop neck and the shirt ended above his belly button and his jeans were cut into short shorts.

"You look hot, Emmett!" I said.

"Yeah, I think that Rosalie is going to have a new type of competition," Edward said.

"I know, I'm hot," Emmett said as he walked back to the couch.

"So, it's my turn," Emmett said. "Jasper, truth or dare?"

"Truth," Jasper said with his slight southern accent.

"When are you going to propose to Alice?" Emmett asked while giving Jasper a look.

"Actually, I was planning on doing it tonight," Jasper said.

"Jazzy?" Alice said. "Are you serious?"

Jasper got off the chair and walked over to Alice and got on one knee.

"I'm dead serious. Ali-bear, I have loved you from the moment I met you. I feel like I've been searching for you my entire life, and now that I've found you, I'm never letting go. Alice Brandon Cullen, will you marry me?"

"Yes! Yes! A million times yes!" she cried. Jasper got off his knee and kissed her passionately. He spun her around in a circle before putting her down again. He pulled a small velvet box out of his pocket and opened it. Inside of it was a gorgeous diamond ring with small diamonds around the silver band. He put it on her finger and the two of them stared at it happily.

"I'm going to be Mrs. Jasper Whitlock!" Alice said happily.

We all hugged the happy couple and told them our congratulations.

"Thanks, Emmett," Jasper said. "I don't think that I could've done that without you."

"It's no problem, man. Just know that if you ever hurt her, Edward and I will kill you. And on that note, shall we continue the game?" Emmett asked.

"Okay, Rosalie, truth or dare?" Jasper asked.

"Dare, baby!" Rosalie said, sounding like Emmett.

"You and Emmett can't touch each other for a week," Jasper told her. "No hand holding, kissing, groping, grinding, etc."

"No!" both Rosalie and Emmett yelled at the same time.

"Starting now," Jasper added. "Rosalie, Emmett, switch spots with Alice and me."

Rosalie and Emmett begrudgingly got up and switched spots with Alice and Jasper.

"Okay, now that we've gotten those out of the way, everybody has to switch. If you had a dare in the first round, you do a truth in this round," Emmett said. "Who wants to go first?"

When nobody answered, Emmett decided that we were going to keep the order that we were in for the first round.

"Eddie, you have to put five ice cubes in your pants for a full minute," Emmett told him.

Edward sighed and said, "Okay. Someone go get some ice."

Emmett eagerly got off the couch and got an ice tray. Edward grabbed the first ice cube and shuddered when it hit his skin. We counted to sixty seconds and, when the time was up, Edward literally threw the ice cubes out of his pants.

"That was pure torture," Edward exclaimed. "Okay, Alice, now that you and Jasper are engaged, do you want to have children?"

"I would love to have children with Jasper," Alice said. "We've talked about it some, and we both would like to start a family once we have stable jobs."

"Very sensible," Edward said in approval.

"Okay, Bella," Alice said. "You have to sing 'Defying Gravity' in front of everybody."

"No! Alice, please don't!" I said, terrified. "I can't do it!"

"Come on, Bella," Alice pleaded. "You've sung in front of Rose and I before."

"That's not the same," I said. "I'm self-conscious about my voice."

"Please, Bella?" Alice said with the most heartbreaking look on her face.

"Ugh, fine," I said. "I hate you, by the way."

I started singing the song, timidly at first, but somewhere during the song I started gaining confidence. Everybody was clapping in time to my voice and it became very fun. I was proud of myself for hitting all the notes and I flushed with pleasure when I was done.

"You were incredible, love," Edward said. "You have to sing with me accompanying you sometime."

"Yeah that would be great," I said while sitting down. "Okay, Emmett, what is your favorite thing about Rose?"

"Well, besides the fact that she's smokin' hot and is amazing in bed, I love that she can tolerate my craziness."

"That's because I love you, goober," Rosalie said.

"Okay, Jasper, we're going to have you make a peanut butter and Jasper sandwich," Emmett said. "Everybody, come with us to the kitchen."

We all went to the kitchen and watched Emmett take out peanut butter, jelly, and bread.

"Take off your shirt, Jasper, and lift your arms," Emmett ordered.

Jasper sighed and took off his shirt and lifted his arms. Emmett grabbed a knife and put peanut butter on his left arm pit and put jelly on his right arm pit.

"Okay, now you have to take two pieces of bread and take the peanut butter and jelly off of you and then eat half of the sandwich!" Emmett said, sounding proud of himself.

"Where do you come up with these things?" Jasper said.

"It's all up here," Emmett said while pointing to his head.

Jasper got two pieces of bread and wiped his armpits with them. He put the two pieces of bread together and took a bite of it.

"Ugh, it tastes like PB&J and deodorant," Jasper said.

"Don't worry, Jasper," Alice said. "I'll make this worth it when I take you home tonight."

"Okay, that's not okay," Edward said. "I don't want to think about what my baby sister is doing with her fiance."

Jasper finished half of the sandwich and then threw the sandwich away. He grabbed some paper towels and cleaned himself off while we headed back to the living room.

"Rosalie, do you think that you and Emmett are going to get married?" Jasper asked.

"Well, at this point and time, I'm not sure," Rosalie said. "I know that I love him and that he loves me, but I'm unsure. I _think_ so, but I don't know."

"Okay, that concludes our game of 'truth or dare'," Emmett said. "We have to do this again because this was so much fun!"

"I agree," Alice said. "Well, we'll see you at school tomorrow!"

"See you tomorrow!" we all said in unison. We laughed when we realized that we said that at the same time.

Today was one of the best days ever. I couldn't wait to see what tomorrow would bring.


	35. The Plan

**A/N Thanks to lilquackers77, Dimitri'sLove2381, elizabethmom05, Bloody Ale, catcat6565 and LillyFlower94 for reviewing. I know I always say this, but it really does make me the happiest girl ever. **

**So once again I must apologize to you guys. My computer broke (for good) so it's really difficult for me to get on fanfiction. I will try as hard as I can to post this story and my other story "The Lion, the Lamb, and the Wolf" as often as I can. I sincerely hope that this doesn't stop you guys from reading my stories...**

**Disclaimer: Do I own Twilight? Nope. **

EPOV

I woke up the next morning excited to go to school. I always loved seeing Bella cook; her face would light up like there was no tomorrow. Also, Esme would be back from her vacation with Carlisle, which I was looking forward to. Although I didn't look it, I was sort of a Momma's Boy.

I got out of bed and took a shower. I had wanted to make it a quick shower, but the water felt so good that I ended up taking a longer shower than I had intended. I got out and walked to my room to get ready. Alice, of course, laid a casual outfit of a white Oxford shirt and blue jeans on my bed. I put them on and walked downstairs where Esme was cooking.

"Welcome home, Mom," I said to her, wrapping my arms around her in a hug.

"Thanks, Edward," she said, and although I couldn't see her, I could hear the smile in her voice. "I hope you guys were okay with us being gone and didn't get into too much trouble."

"Don't worry, Mom, we didn't do anything bad," I told her. "The craziest thing we did was play a game of Truth or Dare."

"Well, that's not too bad I guess," she said. "I suppose with Emmett it could have been much worse..."

I laughed with her and offered to help her. She told me that it would be very helpful for me to set the table because she was almost done. I grabbed four plates (Carlisle had already left for his shift at the hospital) and the utencils necessary and set the table. Alice came down the stairs and decided to pour the orange juice for everybody. We brought in the plates so that we could put the food on the plates. Emmett stumbled down the stairs rubbing the sleep out of his eyes while we finished up.

"Nice of you to _finally_ join us," Esme said jokingly.

He rolled his eyes and sat down at his seat and began stuffing his face like he'd never been fed before.

"I swear, you would think that he was raised by a pack of wolves the way he eats," Esme said while shaking her head.

"Shut up," Emmett said with food still in his mouth. "I'm hungry."

We all laughed and ate our food much less enthusiastically than Emmett. The food was delicious, as usual and it made me wonder what we were going to make today at school.

"So what were you planning on doing at school today?" I asked Esme.

"Well, I was thinking that we could make Cornish Hens with Rice," she told me.

"Ooh, I love that!" Alice enthused. "We haven't made it in _forever_!"

"I agree," I told her. "I love that meal and I'm sure the others will love it, too."

We finished eating and rinsed our dishes off and headed to school.

* * *

Mike POV

Today was the day; I was going to bring Edward down and Lauren and Jessica were going to handle Bella. It was odd that the three of us had the same motives and that somehow brought us together.

I had the stuff I needed and I prayed that Lauren and Jessica were going to hold up their end of the deal. Bella was mine and I couldn't wait to have her.

I got dressed in jeans and a t-shirt and walked upstairs to make myself breakfast. I was too excited to make anything more special than eggs and ham. I couldn't wait to get to school and bring Cullen down. Ugh, I couldn't even think his surname without shuddering. I refused to think about how he had touched my Bella - she was mine - but I knew that she wanted _me_ and not Cullen so I let it go.

I yelled a goodbye to my Mom and ran out of the house to my car and drove to school.

_Today is going to be the best day of my life._

* * *

BPOV

Rosalie and I drove to school in her car. We were both excited to go to school because it'd been a while since we'd seen Esme and we wanted to learn something new. Rosalie drove into the parking lot and parked next to Edward's Volvo where Edward and Emmett were waiting for us. Edward smiled the moment that he saw me and he walked towards me as I got out of bed.

"Hey Bella," he said and kissed my forehead.

"Hey," I said somewhat breathlessly. "How are you?"

"Much better now that you are here," he told me and I couldn't help but smile at him.

"Was it as weird for you not having me there this morning as it was for me?" I asked him. It was really weird for me to wake up and cook for Rosalie and myself instead of Edward and myself.

"I was actually thinking about that in the car," he answered. "Although I'm glad to have my mother back, I really did miss our little routine we had going."

"Maybe we shouldn't let that happen again," I said and it came out more seductively than I had intended.

"I agree," he said, his voice deeper than usual and his eyes darker.

Suddenly, there was no one around except for me and Edward, or that's what it felt like to me; I couldn't see anything or anybody else but Edward. I didn't even try to resist the urge to kiss him passionately. I threw my arms around his neck and got on my toes so that I could reach him more easily. His arms wrapped themselves around my waist as he returned my enthusiasm, groaning quietly. I used that as the opportunity to thrust my tongue into his mouth and massage it with my own.

Although I didn't want to stop kissing him, I knew that we were going to be late for school. I pulled myself back and smiled at him. I grabbed his hand and we walked inside the school where almost everybody was waiting. I felt my face heat up and I smiled sheepishly at Rosalie. She rolled her eyes and smiled in understanding.

"So we just need to wait for Lauren and Mike to get here and we'll be ready to start," Esme announced

I sat at my table with Rosalie and Edward walked up to the front of the room and stood next to Esme. Rosalie and I chat for a little bit while we waited for Lauren and Mike to arrive. A part of me wondered where they were.

Ten minutes later, Lauren and Mike walked into the classroom together with a mischievous look on their faces. I decided not to read too much into it; I was sure that it was something that I didn't want to know.

"Okay, now that we're all here, let's get started," Esme said to the class. "Today we're going to make cornish hens with rice. It's one of our favorite recipes and we hope that you will like it, too. Have someone from your table get the ingredients and another get the cooking supplies you need. Edward, Emmett, Alice and I will be around each of your tables to help. Get started."

I went to go grab the ingredients while Rosalie went to grab the cooking supplies. Alice walked over to our table while we were getting everything we need.

"Hey Bella!" she enthused. "Hey Rose! Are you guys ready to cook?"

Rosalie and I both laughed and nodded our heads. Her enthusiasm was contageous and I couldn't help but be excited. Alice told us step by step the instructions and we both worked on making the meal. I was plesantly surprised to find that the three of us worked well together. We were the first ones finished and I went to go put the hens in the oven to cook. When I was walking back to the table my eyes locked in with Edward who was working with Jasper and Jacob. He smiled crookedly and I felt my heart flutter in response and I wondered when that was going to get old. I had a suspicion that it would never get old.

"So I am thinking that we should have another girl's night," Alice said when I was back at the table. "It's been a while since the three of us just hung out."

"I agree," I said and Rosalie nodded her head. "When were you thinking?"

"Well, we don't have school tomorrow, so I was thinking that maybe we would do it then," Alice told us. "We could go shopping or go to the spa again or see a movie or just hang out at either my house or your apartment."

"All of those things sound fun," Rosalie said. "So why don't we do all of them? We could spend the entire day together and so could the boys. I'm sure they'd want to hang out, too."

"I'll talk to them about it," Alice said. "I think it's a great idea."

"Do we _have_ to go shopping?" I asked.

"Yes," they answered in unison. I sighed in defeat because I knew that they wouldn't let me out of it.

"Oh don't look so down in the dumps, Bella," Rosalie said. "We can get you something sexy for Edward."

I blushed at the thought of my friends getting myself something sexy for Edward. Then I blushed even more when I realized that he still wasn't ready to have sex with me. Then I blushed even more for wishing that that wasn't the case and he would make love to me. I felt like I was going to explode from the amount of heat that was in my face.

"Aw, look at her blush," Rosalie said while laughing.

"Shut up," I muttered.

"Oh, don't be such a Debbie Downer," Rosalie said while rolling her eyes. Alice laughed and I rolled my eyes at her.

The other's were finished, so Alice had to leave us and go back to the front of the room.

"You all did great," Esme said encouragingly to the class. "I'm really proud of you guys. You are a group of really talented people and I'm glad that I have the chance to work with you. I will see you all on Wednesday. Class is dismissed."

Everybody got up and started leaving. Emmett walked over to Rosalie and me and walked with us.

"Hey Rose," Emmett said. "I was wondering if maybe you wanted to come over today. Alice is going over to Jasper's place and Edward has his appointment with Dr. Clearwater today and Esme won't care as long as we're not too loud."

"Bella," Rosalie said to me, "you don't mind if I go over, do you?"

"Yeah, I don't mind," I told her. "I'll just watch a movie or make a big dinner for us or something."

"Thank you, Bella!" she said and hugged me. "Can you drive my car home? I think it'd make more sense for me to ride with Emmett..."

"Yeah, that's fine," I said.

She handed me her keys and thanked me again. She wrapped her arm around Emmett and left the classroom. I walked out of the classroom after them and walked to the car. I immediately started feeling self-conscious; Rosalie looked so absolutely _right_ driving the car but I knew that I would look silly. I shook off my self-consciousness and got in the car. Driving her car was so different from driving my truck. I had to remember not to shove the pedal to the floor like I had to with the truck.

I managed to get home without too many difficulties. I shot Rosalie a text telling her that I had made it home. I decided that it would be a good idea to make some baked spaghetti with bacon on top because it was time consuming and it was delicious. While I was getting the ingredients that I needed, I heard a thump. I wrote it off that I had knocked something over in the fridge. I started singing to myself as I got everything prepared for the meal.

"You know, you have a beautiful voice," a man's voice said from the living room.

Adrenaline pumped through my veins as my body realized that there was someone else in the apartment with me. I grabbed a butcher knife out of the drawer and walked apprehensively to the living room.

Standing in front of me with a sleazy smile on his face was Mike Newton.


	36. Nightmare on Bella's Street

**A/N Lots and lots of thanks to lilquackers77, Madison Elliott, Bloody Ale, and elizabethmom05 for reviewing to last chapter. It means the world to me and I love you all for it.**

**So, I'm warning you guys now, this chapter is by far my least favorite chapter to write. I honestly feel disgusting, but it is necessary to keep the plot moving. This chapter contains non-consensual sexual activity, so if the material offends you, skip this chapter. I have warned you guys.**

**Disclaimer: As always, I am not the creator of Twilight. **

BPOV

_"You know, you have a beautiful voice," a man's voice said from the living room._

_Adrenaline pumped through my veins as my body realized that there was someone else in the apartment with me. I grabbed a butcher knife out of the drawer and walked apprehensively to the living room._

_Standing in front of me with a sleazy smile on his face was Mike Newton._

"How did you get in here?" I asked, my voice shaking slightly.

"I'm sorry," he said, "But you really made it too easy."

"What are you talking about?" I asked, my words rushing together.

"Well, it really was not difficult to tell Emmett that he should invite his girlfriend over," he told me. "And I had Jessica convince Alice to go over to her boyfriend's place. Lauren is dealing with your precious Edward as we speak."

"You have - Edward has nothing to do with this," I studdered, attempting bravado. My heart was pounding in my chest and it felt like it was going to explode.

"Ah, but you see, that's where you're wrong," Mike said while sauntering towards me. For every step that he took forward, I took one back. "You see, he took something that is mine - it belongs to me - and I want it back."

"What are you talking about?" I asked again. I felt my back hit the wall and I started panicking. _Where do I go? What should I do?_

Mike laughed darkly while continuing to stalk toward me. "I'm talking about you," he told me. "We were meant to be together. The first day I saw you I knew that you were meant to be mine. I know you felt it that day at the restaurant. God, you looked stunning that day; it took every ounce of will-power to not take you on the bar. But then your stupid little blonde friend had to go and be a psycho bitch and ruin everything. Then, when we were at the coffee shop, I felt it again - you wanted me. But then your stupid fucking boyfriend had to go and ruin everything then. So, I decided that I needed to do something to get you. Lauren, Jessica and I all teamed up to separate you two so we could have what we wanted. I don't even know what they are doing to your boyfriend, but I can tell you that it's _nothing_ compared to what I'm going to do to you."

He pulled a bag out that he had behind his back and swung it back and forth while licking his lips. I gripped the knife harder, preparing to stab him if he got any closer.

"You'll never get away with this," I said. "Edward will know that it's you."

"But, you see, I _want_ him to know that it was me," Mike informed me. "I want him to know that _I_ was the one one to fuck his girlfriend. Yes, I know how your boyfriend has not fucked you yet, so I will take great pleasure in being the one to claim you. So, to give him some visual stimulation, I've decided that I'm going to make a video of our time together."

He reached in his bag and pulled out a video recorder and turned it on. He stalked toward me and I couldn't help but shake with fear. I held the knife by my shoulder, preparing to stab him the moment he got too close.

"Don't do this, Mike," I pled. "Please, don't do this."

"Oh, but it's too late," he said. "I have to take back what's mine. And I will do anything it takes to make that happen."

I watched as he pulled out a syringe that was full of a clear liquid. He still had the video camera in his other hand as he walked closer.

"So, we can do this the easy way," he said menacingly, "or we can do this the hard way. It's up to you, Bella; put the knife down and I won't have to use this on you."

My grip on the knife didn't loosen and Mike growled at me.

"Fine," he said. "We'll do this the hard way."

He grabbed the wrist that was holding the knife and squeezed really hard. The pain of it made me drop the knife. He seized the opportunity to shove the syringe into my arm and released its contents into my arm. My vision started blurring and then everything went black.

* * *

Cold. That was the first thing that I felt when I woke up. I noticed that I was lying on my bed, but I had no idea how I had gotten there. I tried to sit up, but my arms and legs were tied to the bed. I opened my eyes and noticed that I was naked. I felt self-conscious and scared as I realized how vulnerable I was.

"Finally, you are awake," Mike said as he walked over to me. He had one hand on the video camera and the other on his cock, stroking himself. "You look stunning spread open for me. I can't help but touch myself. Do you see what you do to me, Bella? I haven't even done anything to you yet and I'm hard as a rock. I can't wait until I am inside of you."

I fought against my restraints and felt my eyes tear up. I was slowly giving up hope; nobody was going to come looking for me. Rosalie was busy with Emmett and Alice was busy with Jasper. Edward had to deal with whatever Lauren had in store for him. None of my friends knew what was going on and I was going to be raped and possibly killed.

"Look at her, Edward," Mike said while moving the camera slowly up my body. "Isn't she stunning? It's really a shame that you haven't had the pleasure of being inside of her. You know, I bet she's tight as hell. Why don't we go and see?"

He stalked over to me, his one hand still on his dick and the other still holding the camera. He set the camera on my bed and put the lens of the camera on my opening and I hissed at how cold it was.

"Can you see it, Edward?" Mike asked the camera. "Can you see through her hairless pussy and see how tight she is? No? You can't? Oh, that's really to bad - for you. I guess I'll just have to test it out for myself."

He took his hand off of his dick and roughly entered two fingers into me. I couldn't help the yelp that escaped my lips. I knew that my body wasn't getting aroused by what he was doing, so I was dry as a bone. He kept moving his fingers in and out of me and his other hand returned to his cock. The video camera was still laying by my vagina, recording everything.

"Fuck, Bella," Mike groaned. "I can barely fit my two fingers inside of you."

He kept stroking himself, moaning my name until he reached his orgasm. He pulled his fingers out of me and licked them off.

"God, you taste delicious, too," Mike said, although I knew that there couldn't be any taste on his fingers except for himself. He grabbed the camera from where it was sitting and set it on the table so that the lens was still facing me. He climbed on the bed and hovered over my body. Abruptly he bit my ear roughly and I yelped in pain. He laughed quietly at my pain and pulled my hair. I couldn't stop the scream that escaped my lips. He used that as an opportunity to shove his tongue into my mouth and swiveled his tongue around mine.

While he continued molesting my mouth with his tongue, I started thinking of possible ways to escape. If there were any way that I could get him to untie me, I could escape. I was suddenly struck with an idea.

"Mike," I said while he began sucking on my neck. "I want to touch you. Please, let me touch you."

I hoped that my voice sounded seductive to him; it sounded to me like I had a bad cold. It didn't help that he was putting all of his weight on me.

"No way," Mike almost growled at me while shaking my head. "Do you really think that I'm that stupid? I'm not letting you go until I've finished with you."

He returned to my neck and bit it roughly. I screamed out in pain and started crying again.

"Shut the fuck up, you stupid bitch!" Mike yelled at me. His eyes were pitch black instead of their usual friendly blue and he looked deranged.

"Please don't do this," I sobbed. Pleading with him was my very last hope. "I'll do anything you want."

Mike chuckled darkly and said, "You're going to do what I want whether you want to or not. _I'm_ the one in charge of this whole thing - not you. So_ shut up_!"

He returned to attacking my neck, biting in some places and sucking in other places. He kissed his way down my neck and started sucking on my left nipple. Without warning, he bit down on it hard. I screamed loudly in pain.

"I said SHUT UP!" Mike screamed at me. "God, do I need to fucking gag you? Because I swear to God that I will."

I heard a crash downstairs and my head turned toward the sound. I didn't know what it was, but it gave me hope. It made me hope that someone had come looking for me. Mike, thankfully, was oblivious to the sounds as he continued sucking on my breasts. He bit down roughly on my right breast and I screamed as loudly as I could. I hoped that, if someone was downstairs, they would hear my scream and know where to come looking for me.

I heard loud footsteps coming up the stairs and the sounds of closed doors being kicked open. Mike was oblivious, sucking hard on my right nipple.

"HELP!" I screamed at the top of my lungs.

Mike's fist colided hard with my skull and my vision started to blur. I was close to passing out, but I fought against it - struggling to stay conscious.

The door slammed open and a tall man was standing in the doorway. I heard him growl - an inhumane sound - and rush towards Mike.

I couldn't really see what was going on, but I could hear both men yelling. I saw one of the men - it was hard to distinguish each of the men with my vision blurring so badly - fall to the ground. The other seized the opportunity to kick him repeatedly in wherever he could kick. Their yells became louder and I distinctly heard bones breaking. I couldn't hold on any longer and I let the blackness take me over.

**A/N (numero dos): That was, by far, the hardest thing I've ever had to write. I hope you guys don't hate me too badly for it. If it helps, I probably feel as disgusted as you do. Mike is seriously a sick bastard who deserves to burn in the firey pits of hell and I'm sure you all agree. Don't worry - justice will be served.**

**So who do you think the man is who saved Bella? I'm curious as to who you think it was...I don't think that you guys will get it right, but you never know. I know you all are very intelligent people, so I'm sure someone will surprise me and guess correctly...Good Luck! :D **


	37. Nightmare on Edward's Street

**A/N Wow, you guys! The response to last chapter was awesome! Thanks a bunch to elizabethmom05, lilquackers77, TeamEdward2009, Babe Pryor, Bloody Ale, Redneck Angel and Madison Elliott for reviewing. It means the world to me, and I really appreciate it.**

**So I think I need to make a point of clarification: there was only one person who was saving Bella. Bella was kind of whoozy, so she saw two people - as in Mike and her "savior". I'm sorry if that was unclear. Failure on my part; hopefully that clears things up...**

**Also, only one person guessed right on who Bella's savior was, and even they weren't too confident in their answer. I loved some of the people that you came up with; it makes me wish that I were cool enough to have thought of them. My personal favorites were Carlisle, Charlie, and Emmett. You guys sure are creative! :D**

**So I'm sort of saddened by the fact that none of you guys caught my Twilight references. Admittedly I changed who said them, so I can understand how it was missed.**

"I'm sorry, but you really made it too easy." (James in Twilight the movie on the phone with Bella) [I made Mike say it]

"You have - Edward has nothing to do with this!" (Bella in Twilight the movie in the ballet studio)

**So I think that Edward's story deserves to come out, too, so here it is. I hope you guys like it; it's much less traumatic than Bella's chapter was. This chapter starts in the parking lot before school; I hope that's not unclear to you guys.**

**Disclaimer: Here's a little fun fact: I don't own Twilight! Isn't that crazy? I know! :D**

EPOV

I was so glad to see Bella again at school; it was harder for me than I would have thought to be away from her for so long. I drove faster than I normally did - which was saying something - in my haste to see her. Esme and I drove together and Emmett and Alice drove together because I knew that Alice was going over to Jasper's house after school and I didn't want to have to drop Esme and Emmett off before my appointment. Esme walked away from us so that she could get the supplies ready for the students; Esme always was prepared. Meanwhile, Alice, Emmett and I stood around waiting for our significant others.

"So, I was thinking of inviting the girls to hang out tomorrow," Alice told us. "Maybe you guys should have a guys night or something..."

"That could be cool," Emmett said. "Jasper's a cool dude."

"Yeah, I agree," I said. "I can ask him after class if he wants to hang out then."

"Oh thank you, thank you!" Alice said as she threw me into a hug. "I love you so much!"

I couldn't help but laugh at her theatrics. Alice was truely one of a kind.

I saw Jacob Black's car pull in to the parking lot, followed by Jasper. Alice squealed in excitement and started jumping up and down, clapping her hands. Emmett and I exchanged a look of exasperation as she ran over to Jasper's car. She kissed him passionately, as if they hadn't seen each other in a year instead of twenty-four hours.

Emmett and I made small talk as we waited for our significant others. I smiled as I saw Rosalie's car pull into the parking lot. Bella, looking beautiful as always, got out of the car and I walked over to her, unable to wait for her any longer.

"Hey Bella," I said and kissed her forehead.

"Hey, how are you?" she asked.

"Much better now that you are here," I told her. I didn't care how corny I sounded; it was the truth. Plus, her smile was rewarding enough that I didn't care what I had to say to put it there; I would do anything to make her smile.

"Was it as weird for you not having me there this morning as it was for me?" she asked me.

"I was actually thinking about that in the car," I told her. "Although I'm glad to have my mother back, I really did miss our little routine we had going."

I was thinking in the car about how nice it was to have our morning routine going and how much I disliked having that change. I was actually thinking about asking her to move in with me, but I knew that it was too soon for us to go to that step. Besides, she was perfectly safe in her apartment with Rosalie, so I had nothing to worry about.

"Maybe we shouldn't let that happen again," Bella said, her voice getting lower in pitch. Her voice did wonderful things to my body and I could feel it react.

"I agree," I told her and I could hear my voice become huskier. I couldn't resist the urge to kiss her if I tried; I had no self-control around her. Bella got on her toes and wrapped her arms around my neck so that she could reach my lips more easily. My arms wrapped themselves around her waist and I couldn't help but groan as I felt her body get close to mine. Bella stuck her tongue in my mouth and took charge of the kiss. I was all too happy to let her take control; a part of me made a mental note to allow this to happen more often. All too soon, Bella pulled back and smiled at me angelically. She grabbed my hand and walked us to the school.

I let go of Bella's hand and walked to the front of the classroom while Bella walked to her station where Rosalie was giving her a look.

"So we just need to wait for Lauren and Mike to get here and we'll be ready to start," Esme announced to the class.

When Lauren and Mike walked into the classroom, we were finally able to begin. I was supposed to go to Lauren and Jessica's table to help them make the cornish hens with rice. Jessica left to get the supplies, leaving me alone with Lauren who was obviously pushing her chest out.

"So Edward," she said, trying to make her voice sound seductive. "How are you?"

"Um, I'm good," I said, trying to be polite. "How are you?"

"Not good, actually," Lauren said with an overdramatic pout. "This cooking stuff is very difficult for me."

"Maybe I could help you sometime," I offered, again trying to be polite. I found nothing in Lauren attractive in any way.

"Do you think that you can come over today and help me?" Lauren asked me.

"Um, I think that I can do that," I said. "It can't be for long because I want to see Bella, but I'm sure I can help you."

"Oh, thank you so much, Edward," Lauren said while smiling at me.

Jessica walked back to the table with the supplies. I watched as they made the meal and I had to help a lot more than I thought that I would have to. I made a mental note to not work at their table again. Eventually, they got the food done and put it in the oven.

"So, I was wondering if you wanted to ride with me to my place since you don't really know where it is," Lauren said after Esme dismissed us from class.

"Sure," I said. "Let me give the keys to my mother so she can get home."

"Okay," she said.

I walked over to Esme who was clearing up the supplies. I let her know that I was going to Lauren's to help her with cooking and to come pick me up around 5:00. She grabbed the keys as I handed them to her and thanked me. I walked back over to Lauren who was the only other person in the room; Bella must have already left.

"I'm so thankful that you are doing this," Lauren said as we got into her hideously pink vehicle. "Daddy would hate it if I was doing poorly at the school. He might cut me off and that would be horrible."

"Yes, upsetting daddy would be horrible," I said sarcastically. Luckily, the sarcasm was lost to Lauren.

"I know!" Lauren said. "Gosh, I couldn't even imagine what it must be like for the poor people to live right now - especially in this recession. It's a good thing that we're both rich."

I decided to not talk to her after that; there was only so much ignorance that I could take. She turned the radio on to some god awful hip hop song and started bouncing to the beat. I stared out the window, watching as the trees passed us by. We pulled into her driveway that led up to her large mansion that made my house look small. We walked in silence to the house and walked to the kitchen. The kitchen was very modern with black tile on the ground and a large, granite island in the middle. All of their appliances were stainless steel and it was a very beautiful kitchen.

"You have a beautiful home," I said politely.

"Yeah, it's pretty nice," Lauren told me. "It's going to be sad moving out after we're done with culinary school."

"I bet," I said sarcastically. "You'll actually have to do your own laundry and cook your own food and do things on your own."

"I know," Lauren said, once again not catching my sarcasm. "It's going to be difficult, but Daddy's paying for an apartment and he's going to give me an allowance of $150,000 a month, so I think I'll be good. I'll have to cut down on my spending a lot, but I think I can manage."

Wanting to end the conversation, I told her that we should get started with making the meal. She told me that she really wanted to know how to make lasagna, so I grabbed the ingredients that I knew were needed to make it. I helped her step by step to make the lasagna. When we were finished preparing the food, I put it in the oven for her because she said that she was afraid that her acrylic nails would melt off.

"You are such a good teacher," Lauren said. "Thank you so much."

"Anything I can do to help," I said. "I should be going soon."

"Wait there's something that I need to do," she said quickly.

Lauren walked up to me and wrapped her arms around me. Thinking that she was going to give me a hug to thank me - which would be understandable - I wrapped my arms around her waist. What I wasn't expecting for her to do was to push my neck down and kiss me. She pushed her lips hard against mine and moaned dramatically as she started moving her lips. I was in complete shock, so I just stood there while she assulted my mouth. However, I came to my senses as she tried opening my mouth with her tongue.

"What the hell are you doing?!" I yelled as I pulled myself out of her grasp.

"But Eddie, I thought that you wanted this," Lauren said with a pout.

"My name is Edward," I corrected angrily, "And I wouldn't want you if you were the last woman on Earth. The only woman I will ever want is Bella and I have her. How dare you kiss me when you know that I am in a relationship."

I walked away from her, pulling my cell phone out of my pocket as I walked away. I could hear Lauren trying to get my attention, but I treated her as if she didn't exist. I called Esme and told her what happened and that I needed to get away from Lauren as fast as I could. I gave her the address and she told me that she would be there in less than five minutes. I hung up the phone and continued walking towards the front door.

"Edward, I'm sorry," Lauren said as she walked behind me.

I wiped the back of my hand over my mouth trying to get Lauren's disgusting lip gloss off of my lips. I felt horrible to Bella for allowing that to happen; I should have known that something was going to happen. I decided that I was going to call Bella and tell her everything. I dialed her number and it went straight to voicemail which was odd for her.

"Hi Bella, it's Edward. I have something that I really need to tell you, but it is not appropriate to tell you over the phone. I was wondering if you wanted me to come over to your apartment after dinner so I could see you and tell you what happened. Call me back and let me know if that's okay. I love you with all of my heart and I hope to hear from you soon."

I ended the phone call and walked down the driveway. Esme pulled into the driveway with a livid expression on her face.

"Get in the car," Esme said to me while getting out of the car. Her expression was scary enough that I didn't argue with her. I sat in the car and closed the door.

"How dare you do this to my son!" Esme yelled to Lauren, her voice loud enough in her fury that I could hear her in the car. "You knew that Edward was in a relationship and yet, you were selfish enough to do this. I am offically expelling you from my school and, if you value your life, you will not come within 500 feet of Edward. Got it?"

I could see Lauren visibly shaking as she registered my mother's fury. I had only seen her get that mad one other time and that was when Emmett broke her favorite irreplaceable vase that had been in her family for centuries when we were still in high school and that had been absolutely terrifying then, too. I could only imagine the fear that was running through her veins while my mother yelled at her. She nodded her head slowly and ran towards her house. Esme walked back to the car with a vindictive smile on her face.

"I'm glad I've finally got to deal with that," Esme said as she got in the car. "You know, I never liked that girl and I will not be sad to see her go."

She drove with purpose back to our house. We were silent as the trees flew passed us. I noticed that Lauren did not live very far from us and I was glad that she had never tried coming over. After seeing my mother's rage against what had happened, I could only imagine what she would be like if Lauren had trespassed onto our property.

"I'm going to go to the library to calm down," Esme told me after she parked the car.

"Okay," I told her.

We walked to the house together and separated as she walked to the library and I walked towards Emmett's room. I knew that Emmett and Rosalie were home. I prayed that they were not having sex, because that was something that I never wanted to see. However, luck seemed to be on my side - ironic because of how much it wasn't on my side earlier - because they weren't having sex. A fully clothed Emmett opened the door after I knocked.

"What's up little bro?" Emmett asked as he stood in the doorway. "What are you doing here? I thought you had an appointment."

"No, I don't have an appointment until this Friday," I said. "Can I come in? I really need someone to talk to right now."

"Of course, bro," Emmett said while he walked to his bed next to Rosalie who also, thankfully, was fully clothed. "Is it all right if Rosie stays?"

"That's fine," I said. "She actually might be able to help."

"Who do I need to kill?" Rosalie said jokingly. Emmett laughed and even I cracked a small smile at her.

"You're actually not far off in that question," I said. All joking vanished from both of their faces as they realized that I wasn't joking. "I went over to Lauren's house to help her cook because she told me that she was having a difficult time. At first, everything was fine; we made lasagna. However, when I told her that I needed to leave, she kissed me."

"Aw, hell no!" Rosalie said. "I'm gonna slap a bitch!"

Emmett seemed to be thinking along the same lines. "How the fuck did she think that was okay?" Emmett asked me.

"I don't know," I said honestly. "I think that she deluded herself into thinking that I wanted her. I made it abundantly clear to her that Bella is the only person that I will ever want. You should have seen Mom, though. She was absolutely livid; she expelled her and told her that she could not be within 500 feet of me."

"Well, I'm glad Mom dealt with the trash," Emmett said. "What are you going to do about Bella, though?"

"That's actually what I came in here to talk about," I said. "I'm afraid that when I tell Bella that she's either going to leave me or she's going to do something to Lauren."

"Well, I can promise you that you don't have to worry about her leaving you," Rosalie said with a smile. "That girl is insanely in love with you. I would be more worried about the latter if I was you. Why don't we all go together to tell her? That way we can stop her from doing something that she will regret."

"I think that's a great idea," I said and Emmett nodded his head in agreement. "Should we go in my car?"

"That will probably be the easiest," Emmett said.

The three of us walked out of his bedroom. I quickly told Esme that we were going over to Bella's apartment and that we would be home before dinner. We walked to the car and got in quietly. I adjusted the seat and mirrors from the way that Esme had them and pulled out of the driveway.

"Can you call Bella, Rose?" I asked. "I don't want her to freak out when we all randomly show up."

Rosalie pulled out her phone and dialed Bella's number. I saw Rosalie's face become surprised when it went straight to voicemail; I could hear Bella's greeting through the speakers.

"Hey Bella, it's Rose," Rosalie said into the phone. "Why aren't you picking up your phone? You always pick up your phone. I'm calling to let you know that me, Edward, and Emmett are coming home because Edward has something he needs to tell you. It's not good news, but I promise that everything is okay. I guess we'll see you soon."

She hung up the phone, her face still surprised. "Bella always answers her phone," Rosalie said. "She always has it on her in case of an emergency. I think that something is wrong."

As the words left Rosalie's lips, I pressed down on the gas harder making the car go faster. If something was wrong with Bella, I needed to get there as soon as humanly possible. Traffic was not bad, so we got to the apartment in record time. We all ran out of the car to the front door. I became scared when I saw that the door was wide open.

"Bella?!" I yelled at the top of my lungs as I ran to the kitchen. There was boiling water that was overflowing onto the floor and ingredients to make something sitting out on the counter. It was very unlike Bella to leave things sitting out and it was also unlike Bella to leave things unattended.

"Bella?!" I heard Rosalie and Emmett yell as they searched the first floor.

"Maybe she's upstairs!" I yelled in a panic.

We ran upstairs and ran to her bedroom where I saw an unconscious, naked Bella in the arms of Jacob Black.


	38. The Aftermath

**A/N You guys never cease to amaze me...seriously. Last chapter was the most reviewed chapter of the whole story, and that makes me smile. Thank you to Madison Elliott, lilquackers77, TeamEdward2009, Babe Pryor, jammieface, beraroma, Bloody Ale, and elizabethmom05 for reviewing. The past two chapters were really hard for me to write, so it makes me so happy that you guys had a positive response to it. (Wow, I think this is the longest thank you I've ever given!)**

**So, we are nearing the end of this story. :'( I know, I love this story just as much as you guys do. I will be sad to see it end, but I plan on writing many more stories on fanfiction. Put me on Author Alert so you can know when I post something new. I already have another story, "The Lion, The Lamb, and The Lion" in progress, so you guys should check it out. :) Okay, I'm done whoring my other story, now let's get on to this one! :D**

**Disclaimer: As always, I am not the brilliant mastermind behind Twilight, nor was I awesome enough to create the Edward Cullen. **

EPOV

_We ran upstairs and ran to her bedroom where I saw an unconscious, naked Bella in the arms of Jacob Black._

I felt murderously enraged at the sight. My vision had focused on the two of them and all I could think about was the most painful way that I could murder Jacob Black. My mind didn't even register the possibility that he didn't do this to my Bella because the rage had clouded my mind. I was so furious that I couldn't even speak. Fortunately, Rosalie seemed to be able to speak.

"What the fuck did you do to her?!" Rosalie yelled at Jacob. I looked at her face and saw that her fury distorted her face, making her look truely terrifying.

"It wasn't me," Jacob said defensively. "Look on the ground."

We all looked down and saw an unconscious Mike Newton on the ground covered in blood. My brain was unable to pay any attention to him, though; I was too focused on finding out what happened to Bella.

"Tell me what happened," I commanded in a voice that sounded very little like my own.

"I will tell you guys after one of you calls the police," Jacob said.

I saw Emmett pull out his cell phone out of the corner of my eye and watched as he called the police and told them what we knew of the situation. He gave them the address of the apartment and told them to bring an ambulance, too.

"Okay, I think that I should start at the beginning," Jacob said. He was still holding Bella's unconscious form in his arms and he seemed to realize this. He handed Bella to me and started telling us what happened.

"Bella and I have been friends for years; we grew up together in Phoenix," Jacob told me. "When she moved, we unfortunately lost contact with each other. On a whim, I decided to apply to the Cullenary School because I've always enjoyed cooking, which was good since my friends and I all have very large appetites. It turned out to be one of the best decisions of my life because Bella decided to apply, too. We were able to reconnect and rekindle the friendship we had together. Growing up, I had always had a crush on her, but now I realize that we are meant to be great friends; I think of her as an older sister and I'm sure she thinks of me as a brother.

"She confided to me everything that was happening to her and she let slip what happened with Mike before you started dating. I started paying close attention to Mike and I realized that something was seriously not right with him. I overheard him planning with Lauren and Jessica to break the two of you up. When Mike and Lauren were late coming to class today, I realized that something was up. I noticed that Rosalie had left with Emmett and that you had left with Jessica. I decided that I was going to stop by because I missed hanging out with Bella - which is true - but in reality I didn't want her to be alone; I had a really bad feeling that something bad was going to happen. Traffic was bad, so I wasn't able to get here for a little while.

"When I got here, I noticed that the front door was unlocked, which was strange; both of our parents are cops and they always stressed that we needed to lock our doors. I opened the door and I heard Bella screaming. I heard Mike yelling at her and I ran up the stairs. I frantically started opening doors trying to find her. I heard her scream 'help' and I knew where she was. I opened the door and I saw Mike, who was lying on top of her, punch her head and that really pissed me off. I pulled him off of her and punched and kicked whatever I could reach of him. I don't know what finally made him pass out, but I don't really care at this point. I untied her arms and legs from her bed and picked her up; that's when you guys got here."

I was speechless after Jacob's speech; I could not believe what a sick bastard Mike was. My fury was now aimed at the unconscious thing on the floor; I wanted him dead. I felt Emmett's large hand grab my shoulder.

"Edward, you need to calm down," Emmett said in a voice that sounded very together. I looked at him and saw that his features were a scary calm - scary because Emmett's face was always bright and happy - but his eyes were blazing with anger.

I nodded my head as I realized that he was right; acting on impulsive anger would not help the situation at all. I felt Bella start to stir in my arms and I felt like my heart was trying to burst out of my chest with the relief that I was suddenly feeling.

"Bella?" I asked her in a quiet voice. "Can you hear me?"

I heard her moan quietly and squeeze her eyes together tightly before slowly opening them. She blinked multiple times before her eyes focused on my face.

"Edward?" she asked, only her voice sounded weak and raspy, most likely from the screaming that she was doing earlier.

"I'm here," I told her and I held onto her tightly. I was not going to let her out of my arms until we got to the hospital.

"What happened to me?" she asked me, her voice sounding slurred. I knew that wasn't good; she might have a concussion. I needed to get her to Carlisle.

"You were unconscious," I told her. "Jacob, here, found you and took care of you. The three of us came over because we were worried because you weren't picking up your phone."

"I'm dizzy," she said.

"Rosalie, can you get her some ice for her head?" I asked.

I looked down at her and realized that she was still naked. Although I didn't want to let go of her, I realized that I needed to so that I could get her clothed. I grabbed some sweatpants and a comfortable t-shirt and walked back to her. She seemed barely able to stand, so I decided to help her get dressed; I knew that she would not want anybody to see her naked form. After I helped her get dressed, I wrapped my arm around her waist to help steady her. While I helped her get dressed, I noticed that there was a video camera on her table. My rage returned in full force and the only thing stopping me from hurting Mike more was Bella.

"That sick motherfucker video taped what he was doing," I said in a monotonous voice. I pointed with my other arm to the video camera that was still recording what happened to her.

Emmett walked over to the table and grabbed the video camera and turned it off. He kept it in his hand and walked over to Jacob who seemed to be shaking with fury.

"Calm down, dude," Emmett said. "You need to calm down. Hurting him more is not going to make the situation any better. You've done all that you can do until the police get here."

We heard sirens come down Bella's street and stop outside the apartment, ending all conversation. Rosalie, who was already downstairs, opened the door and let the police officers inside. We heard them come up the stairs and take in the scene.

"What happened here?" one of the police officers asked.

Jacob, who knew the most of what happened, filled in the police officers on what happened. He mentioned the video camera and the officer demanded to see it. Emmett handed him the video camera and the officer rewound it to the beginning.

"Excuse me, sir," I said, my voice shaking in the anger that was still coursing through my body. "Can I take Bella out of the room for this? I think that she needs to go to the hospital and get looked over."

The officer took one look at Bella and nodded silently. I led Bella out of the room and took her downstairs.

"What happened?" Bella asked weakly.

"I'll tell you in the car," I said.

I walked her to my Volvo and put her in the passenger side and buckled her seatbelt. I got in the car and I drove her toward the hospital.

"Bella, I didn't give you the complete truth back there," I told her, struggling to keep my emotions under control. "Yes, you _did_ become unconscious and Jacob _did_ find you, but you weren't the reason why you became unconscious. I still don't know the entire story, but Jacob told us that Mike was on top of you and hurting you badly. Do you remember anything now?"

I watched as Bella's eyes widened and she started trembling in her seat. I wanted to comfort her, but I knew that I needed to get her to the hospital.

"Mike was going to rape me," Bella said, her voice void of emotion. "He broke into the house, drugged me, tied me to my bed and video taped his attempt at raping me."

I gripped the steering wheel so tightly that my knuckles were white and I clenched my jaw so tightly that it hurt, but I could not care less. That vile, worthless thing was going to violate my Bella; he was going to die. I was going to be the one who had the blessing of murdering him.

"Edward, you need to calm down," she said, her voice sounding a little louder than before, although that wasn't saying much; her voice was still barely louder than a whisper.

"Bella, you can't just expect me to let him get away with this," I said through my clenched teeth.

"He's not going to," Bella said, her voice sounding almost normal in her anger. "There were police officers there; he's going to get his justice getting butt fucked in prison. Please don't do anything; I can't lose you."

I looked at her and realized that she was right. I needed to be with her and allow the police officers to do their jobs. I also realized that Bella was wasting her strength, so I calmed myself down as much as I could, given the circumstance. I pulled into the parking lot and helped Bella out of her seat. I walked her to the ER and I walked up to the secretary.

"My father is Dr. Carlisle Cullen," I told her. "My fiancee has been seriously hurt and she needs to see him immediately."

She nodded and called my father's pager. She told him exactly what I told her and she told me that he would be with us momentarily. I watched as he entered the room and took a serious look at Bella.

"Come with me," Carlisle said, sounding completely in control of the situation.

We walked to a room and I helped Bella get on the cot. He asked to know what happened and I told him all that I knew of the situation since Bella didn't look like she would be able to talk. Carlisle informed us that he thought that Bella had a concussion. He recommended rest and ibprofen for the pain. He told us to return if the symptoms did not go away after a few weeks.

We left the hospital and I realized two things; I did not want Bella going back to that apartment. Ever. I wanted her to move in with me so I could protect her from the unforseen dangers of the world. I wanted to be her protector, someone that she could rely on to keep her safe. When Bella got better, I was going to ask her to move in with me.

I also realized that I was over what happened with Tanya, for the most part. I knew that I would never truely get over what she did to me, but "the accident" had put things into perspective for me. I could have lost Bella and never shown her physically how in love with her I was. There was nothing that I could do about what happened with Tanya and it was not fair to Bella to dwell in the past. When Bella got better, I was going to make love to her.

I drove Bella to my house and I carried her to my bedroom. I told her that I was going to go back to her apartment to get her some clothes and her necessary things to get ready. I tucked her into my bed and told her to rest and that I would be back soon.

I walked downstairs where I came face-to-face with Esme who had a grim look on her face.

"Tell me what happened," she said.

I sighed and told her what happened. The anger was very apparent on her face as she discovered that _Mike_ was the person to do this to Bella. I knew that she thought of Bella as a daughter - something that made me very happy - and it made her as angry as she would have been if this had happened to Alice.

"It's offical," she finally said. "I'm closing the Cullenary School for good. I can't continue the school when I know now that two of my students did this to my family. I'm going to call the others and tell them my decision."

"Esme, you can't close your school," I tried telling her, but she cut me off.

"You cannot tell me what I can and cannot do," Esme said. "I am a grown woman and I can make my own decisions without the influence of my son. I'm sorry, I love you, but you are just going to have to let me do this my way."

I respected her decision, so I dropped the conversation. I told her that I was going back to the apartment to get her things. I also informed her that I was going to ask Bella to move in with us temporarily until we were able to find our own house. She smiled and said that she was proud of me and that I was doing the right thing.

I drove to Bella's apartment and I was not very surprised to see Emmett, Rosalie, and Jacob talking to the cops. They stopped talking when they saw me.

"What did Carlisle say?" Emmett asked.

"She has a concussion," I told them. "He told us that she should rest for awhile, but she should be okay."

Everybody let out a sigh of relief at my news. I would have joined them, but I had some things that I needed to get off my chest.

"Rosalie," I started, "I'm sure that Emmett has already said something, but I would feel better if you stayed with us."

"We have talked about this," Rosalie said, her voice thick from crying. "I agree that it would be better if I stayed with you. Although this didn't happen to me, I am thoroughly shaken up from it and I know that I couldn't handle being in this place after what happened. I appreciate the fact that the two of you will allow me to stay with you."

"Rose, I love you," Emmett said with a small smile. "More than I think you realize. You're crazy if you think that I would let you stay here by yourself."

He leaned down to kiss her passionately. I watched as he wrapped his arms around her waist and she wrapped her arms around his neck. I started getting uncomfortable, so I blurted out the first thing that popped into my mind.

"Esme's closing the Cullenary School."

They pulled apart with a disgusting noise and stared at me. I explained to them what Esme told me and they agreed with her; they thought that it was the best decision.

"Jacob," I said, turning towards him. He had been exceptionally quiet during our conversation. "I thank you from the bottom of my heart for what you did for Bella, for me. I will never be able to repay you for what you have done, but I hope that you accept my sincerest gratitude. If there's ever anything that you need, please let me know."

"Yeah," Rosalie said, giving him a genuine look of gratitude. "I second that; Bella is like my sister and you saved her. If there's anything that I can do for you, please don't hesitate in asking."

"Same here," Emmett said anticlimatically.

"You know, I wish that I could say the customary 'your welcome' or 'it was my pleasure' but that was definately not the case," Jacob said. "I got no pleasure from having to do this. This was a horrific thing that I wish had never happened. I appreciate your offers, but this is too much for me to handle right now. I apologize, but I need some time alone to recover. I don't mean to be rude, but this has shaken me up as much as it has shaken you up, maybe even more since I witnessed it, although you saw the video. But I need to leave; I'm sorry."

He left the bedroom and we could hear him leave the apartment. After he left, the police officer walked up to me.

"We're going to need Bella to testify against Mike," the officer told me. "I'm assuming that she wants to press charges?"

"I will have to talk to her about it, but I would say that it would be appropriate to assume that for now," I told him. "She has a concussion, so she needs to rest for awhile."

"That's fine," the officer said. "We need to look over the evidence and interrogate Mike, so it should be okay. I am truely sorry that this happened; I know Bella's father and, if she's anything like her father, she is a truely good person. I will be in contact with all of you over the next few days."

We all nodded our heads and the officer left the room.

"I came here to get some of Bella's things," I said. "It would probably be a good idea for you guys to get a bag together for Rosalie."

They nodded and left the room while I gathered things for Bella. I found a large, blue suitcase in her closet and I decided to use that. I grabbed jeans and t-shirts because I knew that she was more comfortable that way. I grabbed tennis shoes and the necessary undergarments she would need. I zipped up the suitcase and rolled it to the bathroom. I grabbed her toiletries and put them in her suitcase and waited for Emmett and Rosalie.

"Are you ready?" Emmett asked.

I nodded and we walked downstairs. We decided that Rosalie should ride with Emmett and I should drive by myself. I thought about Dr. Clearwater on the ride home; I knew that we would need to inform him on what happened. I trusted him and I knew that he would be able to help us. Bella and I had already had an appointment planned for Friday, so we could use that appointment to help us figure out what to do. I parked my car and met up with Rosalie and Emmett to the house. We didn't try to talk because we were all mentally and physically exhausted from "The Day From Hell" as I began calling it in my head.

I dragged Bella's suitcase into my bedroom. Bella was sleeping and I noticed that her face was not completely relaxed. I walked over to her and ran my fingers softly over her face, hoping to help her relax. She opened her eyes groggily and screamed loudly when she saw me.

"Bella, it's fine," I said frantically. "It's me, Edward. You're fine, you're safe, you're okay. Shhh, I'm here."

I held her until she calmed down. I told her that I was going to change my clothes and that I was going to be back momentarily. I hastily changed my clothes and crawled into bed with her. She had curled up into a fetal position - something that I knew was defensive - and I adjusted myself around her. I held her closely to me and burried my face into the crook of her neck.

"I love you," I said before falling asleep.


	39. Epiphanies

**A/N Thank you to Madison Elliot, lilquackers77, Bloody Ale, KAREN T (), Babe Pryor, TwilightAddict71484, and OhSoRadical. for reviewing to last chapter. Your input is always greatly appreciated, so thank you for taking the time to let me know what you think about my story. I lovers you all so, so, so, so much! :D**

**So I know that there are readers on this site from all over the world, so I am curious to know how many of you guys are watching the Olympics this year. I am watching them right now and I must say that I love them; I tend to enjoy the Winter Olympics more than the Summer Olympics. I am so sad to hear about the death of the athlete from Georgia - it was so ill-timed - and I can't imagine how his teammates are feeling right now...this chapter is dedicated to them. **

**Disclaimer: We've already established that I am not the owner of Twilight, but I enjoy letting you know in any way that I can.**

BPOV

I felt two arms wrapped around my waist as I woke up in a room that was not my own. I started panicking, remembering what had happened to me, and thought that it was Mike who was trapping me against him. I took a huge breath in to prepare for a scream, but that breath allowed me to smell the distinct scent that was Edward. I opened my eyes and realized that I was in Edward's room; I began to relax infintessimally.

I really tried not to think about what had happened to me, but I couldn't. My mind flashed back to Mike over me as he forced his fingers inside of me. I felt dirty and contaminated as I thought about how he shoved his tongue into my mouth. I remembered how my arms were tied to the bed and impulsively looked down at my arms. I cringed when I saw the marks of whatever he tied me to the bed with showed on my arm, as well as bruises in the form of his fingers. I realized that those were from when he squeezed my arm to get me to drop the knife. I experimentally tried moving my wrists and winced in the uncomfortable pain it caused me. I decided that I was going to take a shower and scrub my skin until I couldn't feel the filth that I felt. However, as I tried to move off the bed, my body wouldn't cooperate.

The panic returned in full force as I had no control over my body. My head was throbbing painfully, as were my wrists and ankles, and I couldn't move my body.

"Edward?!" I cried out in a voice that barely sounded like my own.

Edward's eyes shot open immediately and searched for my own eyes. I watched as he registered the pain and panic that I knew was obvious on my face. He released me from his grip as soon as he realized that he was trapping me against him.

"Bella, what's wrong?" Edward asked, his own panic becoming apparent. "What do you need me to do?"

"Ican'tgetup," I answered, the words rushing together as I spoke. My breathing sped up as I tried unsucessfully to get up again.

"Bella, you have a concussion," he told me with concern clearly etched on his face. "You shouldn't get up; you need to rest."

"I. Need. To," I said, needing to breathe in between each word.

"You need to calm down, love," Edward said. "You are panicking. Would you like me to make you some food and get some pain medicine?"

As good as that sounded, I felt too filthy to take up his offer; I needed to take a bath or shower immediately.

"No," I said. "Shower."

"Alright," he said. "I'm going to prepare a bath for you, okay? I'll be right back. Try to focus on your breathing and calm down."

I nodded and Edward walked away. I heard as he started the water and I focused on my breathing; breathe in, breathe out. I eventually got my breathing under control and I tried to get up again. I wasn't able to get up completely, but I was able to get myself into a sitting position. My head felt like it weighed 300 pounds and it throbbed painfully. Edward walked back into the room and lifted me out of the bed and took me to the bathroom.

"Do you need me to help you get out of your clothes?" Edward asked - no innuendo in his voice - with concern.

I nodded because my entire body was sore and I didn't think that I would be able to undress myself. I knew that if I didn't trust Edward so wholly, I wouldn't have been able to all him to see me naked.

He set me on my feet and put his arms around my waist as I swayed slightly. When he decided that I wasn't going to fall, he gently lifted the t-shirt that I was wearing over my head and tossed it on the ground. He bent down to take off my sweatpants and my breathing picked up again. I knew that Edward had seen me naked before, but I felt so filthy - so undesirable - that I cringed once my clothes were off.

"It's okay," he told me soothingly. "You are safe; I'm here."

He picked me up again and helped me get into the bathtub. The water was the perfect temperature - slightly warm but not enough to burn me.

"Would you like me to stay with you?" he asked.

I nodded my head and he sat down on the toilet seat. I sat in the tub, letting the water soothe my aching body.

"Can you talk to me?" I asked him.

"What would you like me to talk about?" he asked.

"Anything," I answered, grabbing the shampoo and only wincing slightly as the muscles in my arm protested.

He thought about it for a second before taking a deep breath. "There are a few things that I would like to tell you that I think that you need to hear," he told me.

"The first thing is that I am so incredibly sorry that this had to happen to you. I'm not going to lie and say that I understand how you must be feeling, but I can only imagine how you feel. I know that you already know this, but I love you. I've said it to you before, but I've never really realized how hopelessly in love with you I am. You complete me, Bella, and I don't feel that I have done an adequate job of expressing that to you. You really have changed me for the better and I think that I need to tell you some things that you helped me realize.

"When we were in the hospital ride, I realized that, although I've said that I love you - which I do - I've never physically shown you how much I love you. Tanya really hurt me with what she did, and I know that I will never truely get over that. With that being said, I realize that I can't change what happened in the past and that it's not fair to you to dwell on what happened. You are a billion times more important to me than Tanya ever was and, in a way, I'm sort of glad that she did what she did because it allowed me to be with you. I want you to know that this 'accident,' for lack of a better term, has not changed the way that I feel about you. You are still the most beautiful person - inside and out - that I have been fortunate enough to meet and, when the time comes, I would like to show you how much I love you.

"The other thing that I realized was that I don't want you to go back to that apartment. I would like you to move in with me. If you agree, I'd like to you temporarily move here with my family while we search for a place to live. I know that Esme already thinks of you as a part of this family and, because I've already talked to her, she thinks that it would be a good idea for you to move here. I also know that Emmett has offered to let Rosalie stay here, too, and she has agreed. So would you move in with me, Bella?"

I let the information settle in my brain; it was a lot of information for my overly fried brain to handle. It took a second for me to realize that Edward had asked me a question.

"Yes," I blurted out impulsively.

The smile that took over Edward's face was breathtaking. I had never seen a man glow with happiness until that moment; his eyes were sparkling with the happiness that he was feeling. I felt my face unconsciously form a smile in response to his smile.

"Thank you, Bella," he said. "You have no idea how happy that makes me."

I continued my bath quietly, thinking about the things that Edward had told me. It was a lot of information, but I was grateful that he made himself vulnerable and told me; I did need to know those things. He helped me realize some things, too - things that I was planning on telling him when we got back to his bedroom.

When I had finished, Edward helped me get out of the bathtub. He wrapped a towel around my body and another towel gingerly around my head. He walked me, letting me walk this time, and sat me on his bed while he grabbed the suitcase that he brought for me. I saw that he brought very comfy clothes, something that I was very grateful for. He grabbed a simple white t-shirt, jeans, and the necessary undergarments I needed. He helped me get dressed before sitting on the bed next to me.

"Edward, I think there are some things that I need to tell you," I said. "First, I appreciate you telling me what you told me in the bathroom. You told me exactly what I needed to hear. Now, I have some things that I think that you need to hear.

"I love you more than I've ever thought was possible. I've always been cynical when it comes to love, but you have helped me see that true love _does_ exist. I know that I trust you more than anybody - except for my family and Rosalie. I know that you make me feel things that I didn't know were possible to feel, completely amazing things. You make me feel like the most beautiful person in the world, even though I know that I am not. I thank you for loving me as much as you do; I love you too.

"I know we both wish the 'accident' - to use your term - didn't happen, but it's something that I am going to have to get over. I know that it's going to take time, but I know that I can pull through; I am a strong person. I apologize in advance for the inconvenience that I will be for you. I -"

"Bella," Edward interrupted me, a look of disapproval on his face. "Don't ever let me hear you call yourself an inconvenience again. I'm doing this because I care for you deeply and I want you to be able to heal. You are in no way, shape, or form an inconvenience to me."

"I'm just telling you how I feel," I told him. "I feel like I am bringing you down because you have to tend to me like a child. I mean I appreciate what you're doing for me, but I still feel bad about it; I'm used to being the caretaker, so it's weird for me to be the one to is taken care of, but that's not the point. What I was getting at was that I don't want this to get in the middle of our love life. I know that I will probably be unable to handle physicality for awhile, but I want you to know that I still do want to have sex with you. I love you so much and I want to be able to show that to you."

Without giving him time to think, I leaned over and kissed him as passionately as I could, pouring my love for him into it. He seemed hesitant, but he returned the kiss. I ran my tongue over his bottom lip, silently begging for entrance. He opened his mouth slightly and allowed me to taste him. I moaned at the deliciousness that was Edward and continued my exploration of his mouth.

He pulled away after a few minutes, his chest heaving. He looked at me with apprehension, like he was expecting that I was going to freak out, but I wasn't; I realized that if I was in charge of the physical part of our relationship, I didn't have flashbacks. I noted that in my head for future reference.

"Wow, that was awesome," I said with a smile to let him know that I was okay. I watched as his face changed from apprehensive to a happy smile.

"I love you, Bella," he said.

"I love you, too," I told him.

We spent the rest of the morning relaxing in his bed watching movies. Edward only left me once to get me some medicine and some food. He treated me like a queen and I felt so spoiled. It was absolutely wonderful.

Edward told me that we needed to go to the police station at some point because I needed to testify against him. After eating a quick lunch of turkey club sandwiches, we left to go to the police station. Although it was unconventional, I convinced the officer to let Edward stay in the room with me as I gave my evidence. I knew that it would be hard for him to hear what happened from my point of view, but I felt that it would be better for him to know. He was very supportive, holding my hand the entire time while I gave them my perspective. When the officer asked me if I wanted to press charges, I told him that I did; Mike needed to pay for what he did to me. The officer told me that he would give me the information if a court session was needed. We asked if we could gather my belongings from the apartment and he told me that we could.

We left the police station and headed to the apartment to gather some of my belongings after calling Emmett and Rosalie. It was very strange for me to see my room roped off in crime scene tape, especially since I knew that I was the reason for why it was there. When they arrived at the apartment, we gathered all of the things that we would need immediately. I felt rather useless because I wasn't allowed to carry heavy things, but I was allowed to carry my books. We were able to get a lot of things considering the fact that we only had Edward's Volvo and Rosalie's M3.

We drove back to Edward's house - _our_ house - and unpacked my things in Edward's room. I helped as much as I could, but Edward was adament on my relaxing, even though I was feeling a lot better. After everything was unpacked, we went downstairs to help Esme with dinner. Since she was almost done, we only had to set the table - something that I was able to help with.

Alice invited Jasper over and Carlisle didn't have to work, so we had the entire family - that was how I viewed them - together. We ate our food and happy conversation flowed around us. It appeared that everyone was determined to not talk about what happened, which I was very thankful for. Jasper informed us that he and Alice were looking for a place to live now that the Cullenary School was closed. Esme, being the overly generous woman that she was, spent her time trying to find jobs for Jasper, Jacob, Jessica, Eric, Rosalie and me. She told Rosalie and I that we had job interviews at a high class restaurant called "Twilight" on Monday. Alice told Rosalie and me that we were still having our girl's night and that the boys would have to do something together. I was glad that we were still keeping our plans; I would have felt horrible if they canceled because of me.

We cleared the table and bid each other good night before heading to our respective bedrooms. Edward and I spent the rest of the night relaxing and watching movies. I was completely exhausted from the day, so I fell asleep during one of the movies.


	40. Bella's First Therapy Session

**A/N As always I have people that I need to thank: Madison Elliott, Bloody Ale, lilquackers77, jammieface, hafie, elizabethmom05, CAT (), and OhSoRadical. for reviewing. You ladies (and gentlemen, if there are any reading this story) are freaking amazing! Feel free to give yourselves a pat on the back or a round of applause (or as my friend Ryan would say "applesause") or some combination of the two. Or, you can create your own special way to congratulate yourselves on your general awesomeness. :D**

**So my goals for this story are: get up to 200 reviews (and we're so close to doing that) and get up to 100,000 words. Do you guys think that we both can make it happen? I think we can! ;)**

**Disclaimer: Although I love Twilight, I do not own it. :(**

EPOV

The rest of the week was spent relaxing with Bella as we waited for her concussion to heal. The bruises on her arms, wrists, and ankles were fading into a yellow-ish color, which was good, but she was still very tender. Bella was unnecessarily worrying about how she had to cancel her girl's night because she was too physically and mentally exhausted, but I tried telling her that they would understand - which they did; they decided to reschedule it for the following week.

Friday rolled around and we decided that it would be a good idea to have a double session with Dr. Clearwater: a session with both of us and a session with just her. I called Dr. Clearwater on Thursday and explained to him what had happened. He agreed that it would be a good idea for him to speak with her in private. I explained to him what the "accident" made me realize and he agreed with me; I would never truly get over what happened, but I wasn't going to allow it to rule my life like it did before.

Bella and I sat together in the waiting room, waiting to be seen by Dr. Clearwater. I couldn't help but smile slightly at the look of disappointment on Ms. Cope's face as she saw me with Bella. I had to spend the entire car ride convincing Bella that she could do this and that she had nothing to worry about. I held her hand and told her that I loved her while we waited; her responding smile was worth it.

Dr. Clearwater walked into the waiting room and the three of us walked to his office. Bella and I sat together on his leather couch while Dr. Clearwater sat on the leather armchair. I held her hand and put our joined hands in my lap. He told us how we were going to do the session; we were going to spend the first part of the session talking about us as a couple. Bella was going to talk to Dr. Clearwater about the "accident."

"So, Edward, Bella," Dr. Clearwater started, "I understand that what happened recently has effected you both but, with that being said, how do you feel as a couple right now?"

"Well, although I know we both wish that what happened hadn't happened, I think that it has strengthened our relationship," I told him and I saw Bella nod her head in agreement. I gave her a small smile before continuing. "Before the 'accident,' I knew that I loved Bella and that she loved me, but this solidified our love for each other. As horrible as the situation is, it had helped me realize that there are more important things than what has happened to me in the past. She has helped me become the person that I want to be."

Dr. Clearwater nodded his head and said, "What about you, Bella? How do you feel about your relationship?"

Bella cleared her throat delicately and said, "Well, I agree with Edward; I think that we are stronger in our relationship, now. I also know that I am completely comfortable around him and he makes me feel beautiful and happy - something that no one has been able to do for me before. He takes care of me in a way that makes me feel like his companion instead of a child. I'm not sure that I could get through what happened to me without his support and understanding and caring."

"Where do you see this relationship heading?" Dr. Clearwater asked.

"Well, you already know about the promise ring," I told him. When he nodded his head in acknowledgement, I continued. "Well, when we were at the hospital, I told them that Bella was my fiancee. Bella and I have talked about it and we've decided to go on with the engagement; I know that she is the one for me. Also, since neither of us want her at the apartment, she is living with me with my family while we go looking for our own place."

"And Bella," Dr. Clearwater said, "are you okay with this? Do you feel that things aren't being rushed and that this is the appropriate time to be doing this?"

"Well. I do sort of feel that things are faster than they would be in a 'normal relationship'," Bella said. "But, the 'accident' has made me realize that life is short; I already know that Edward is the one for me, so why should we wait?"

We wrapped up the session and I was told to wait in the waiting room during Bella's session. I occupied myself with the magazines they had on the table. My mind kept wandering to what Bella and Dr. Clearwater were talking about in his office. I wished that I could be there with her, holding her hand and supporting her. I impatiently waited for their session to end.

When Bella walked into the waiting room, I unconsciously got out of my chair to give her a hug and a kiss on the top of her head.

"I'm proud of you," I told her honestly.

"Thank you," Bella said, her eyes red from crying.

We walked in silence to the car. Once we were seated, we decided that it would be a nice idea to go out for lunch. I decided to drive to Old Bag of Nails; it sounded really good to me. I pulled into the parking lot and rushed out of the car so I could open Bella's door. Her shy smile was enough to make my face break out into a huge smile; she made me so happy. We ordered our food and chat lightly before it arrived.

"So how did your session go?" I asked her once our food arrived.

"It wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be," Bella told me. "There's just something about Dr. Clearwater that made me feel very comfortable. We decided that I'm going to take over your pre-booked sessions since you both agree that you don't need them anymore."

"That sounds like a good idea," I said before taking a bite of my food.

We continued talking while we ate our food. Once we were finished, I paid - after arguing with Bella on the issue - and we went home. After the emotionally exhausting session that Bella had, we both decided that it would be a good idea to take a nap.

* * *

BPOV

I woke up before Edward did from our nap. I appreciated the fact that Edward understood how mentally exhausted I was after the session. I thought about the session that I had with Dr. Clearwater.

_"Hello, Bella," Dr. Clearwater said once Edward had left the room. "I know that this will not be easy to talk about, but I know you - and Edward - will be much better off if you talk about this."_

_I nodded my head in agreement because I knew that I needed to get over what happened to me for both my sake and Edward's._

_"Where do you want me to start?" I asked him. I had a million thoughts going through my mind and I didn't know where to start._

_"Why don't you start at the beginning?" Dr. Clearwater asked._

_I took a deep breath and launched into the story in an emotionless voice. "I was cooking baked spaghetti for Rosalie and myself because it is something that takes a long time to make and it sounded really good at the time. I was gathering the ingredients, I heard a thump in the living room. My dad is a police officer, so he always told me that I should have a weapon to protect myself, so I grabbed a butcher knife and walked into the living room. Mike Newton - he went to the Cullenary School with me - was standing in my living room, smiling at me. I asked him how he got in the apartment and he told me that he convinced Emmett, Edward's brother, to invite Rose, my roommate, over and he had Jessica - she also went to the Cullenary School with me - convince Alice, Edward's sister, to go over to her boyfriend's house. I asked him why he was doing this and he told me that it was my fault - and Edward's. He convinced himself that I wanted him, but Edward was getting in the way. He told me that Jessica and Lauren - another girl who went to the Cullenary School with me - were 'dealing with' Edward. He pulled out a video camera and turned it on before threatening me, telling me that he would drug me if I didn't put the knife down. When I didn't, he shoved the syringe into my arm and I blacked out._

_"When I woke up, I was naked and tied to my own bed. He was stroking himself as he held the video camera in his other hand. He roughly shoved his fingers inside of me while he continued stroking himself until he ejaculated on my body. When he was done with that, he climbed on top of me and began molesting my mouth with his mouth. He would randomly bite me, making me cry out in pain, and then he would get pissed off at me. In desperation, I tried convincing him that I wanted to touch him so he would untie me, but he didn't fall for it. As a last resort, I started pleading with him to stop, but he didn't care. As I was giving up hope, I heard a crash downstairs and I screamed for help. Mike punched me in the head and my vision started to blur badly. I saw that a man was fighting Mike, but I couldn't tell who it was, and I eventually passed out._

_"When I woke up, I was in someone's arms. I realized that it was Edward's and I tried telling him that my head hurt, but it sounded like I was mumbling. Edward dressed me and then he realized that Mike was recording everything. When the police arrived, Edward told them that they needed to get me to the hospital because he thought that I had a concussion. In the car, I remembered what had happened to me, even though it hurt my head to try to think. When we got to the hospital, Edward had Dr. Cullen, his father, look at me. He determined that I had a concussion and that I needed to take it easy for the next few days._

_"Esme, Edward's mother, decided to close the school after she found out that some of her students were the cause of what happened. She got Rose and I interviews at a restaurant on Monday because she felt like she owed it to us. I've been staying Edward and his family until we can find our own house to live in."_

_After Dr. Clearwater was finished writing down his notes, he asked me how I felt about what had happened to me._

_"I feel like it is my fault," I told him honestly, my voice cracking slightly as tears filled my eyes. "I didn't do a good enough job of convincing Mike that I was meant to be with Edward, so he believed that he had a chance to be with me. I didn't lock the door of the apartment, so he didn't even have to work at getting into the apartment. I wasn't strong enough to fight him off, so that my karma."_

_"Have you told Edward what you've told me?" Dr. Clearwater asked. When I shook my head, he asked, "Why do you think that is?"_

_"It's not that I don't trust him," I told him. "I think the reason why I haven't told him is because I know that he worries about me and I don't want to add to his worry."_

_After he wrote something down he said, "Our session is almost over, so we should wrap it up. I think that you should take over the sessions that Edward has pre-booked for himself. We agree that he doesn't need them anymore, but I think that you do. Is that alright with you?"_

_"Yes, that's fine," I told him before getting off of the couch and leaving his office._

I was actually really happy with the way the session went. I got a lot off of my chest, things that I had been holding back from Edward. I knew that I needed to talk to him about it at some point, but I was too emotionally exhausted to deal with it.

Edward woke up a little while after me and we decided to relax again. I felt bad that he was having to put his life on hold for me, but he assured me that he did it out of love for me. We watched movies for the rest of the night and focused on being a couple.

"I love you, Bella," Edward said before we went to bed. "More than you know."

"I love you, too, Edward," I told him. "Thank you for being here for me."

"I'll always be there for you," Edward told me before snuggling against me.

I fell asleep with a smile on my face; things would get better for me - for us.


	41. Moving Forward

**A/N You have exceeded my expectations; last chapter was the most reviewed chapter in the _whole story_! An obnoxiously large thank you to Madison Elliott, OhSoRadical., jammieface, Bloody Ale, DodgerMcClure, gasuz09, lilquackers77, Sylvia Cullen, Emmett's Angel 1935, RedneckAngel and elizabethmom05 for reviewing to last chapter. You guys are _so _close to 200 reviews, something that I wasn't expecting for at least another chapter. You guys are freaking amazing! Okay, this is offically the longest thank you I've ever given, but you guys are worth it!**

**Question for those of you who read my little author's notes. Are any of you from the United Kingdom? I'm doing a speech for my speech class and I think that it would be really cool to do an interview with someone from there. Send me a message or mention it in your review if you are interested.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight, but I definately wouldn't mind owning Edward Cullen...mmm. :D**

BPOV

Two weeks had passed since my first therapy session and things were so different. Miraculously, Rosalie and I both got the jobs at _Twilight_ and we both fit in with the people there perfectly. Emily, Embry, Angela, Leah, Kate and Garrett were amazing. Emily was dating Embry, Angela and Leah were life parteners, and Kate and Garrett were married, so we didn't have to worry about getting hit on by our co-workers. They were like a family and they gratiously let us in like we were long lost siblings.

Edward had been getting into his music, since I apparently helped him get over what was holding him back with it. He had been doing gigs at Scottie McBeans, the coffee shop he took me to on our first date. During one of his performances, an executive from a major record label heard him and he hired Edward to help write and compose songs for them. Edward loved his job because he only had to go into work a few times a week and he got to do something that he loved to do.

Edward and I were looking for houses in the area because we wanted to stay close to his family and we didn't want my commute to be longer than it had to. Over the weekend, we went to some houses but neither of us liked what they had available. We were looking for a small house - preferably a two bedroom house - that was close to our jobs and Port Angeles, but we were still waiting for the perfect house.

According to Dr. Clearwater, my progress was very good. I had accepted that I could have done nothing to change what happened; Mike would have deluded himself either way. However, I was frustrated by how my mind and body seemed to be fighting with each other. Edward and I had made out a few times, but whenever Edward accidently pushed me too far, I would shut down. I asked Dr. Clearwater if that was normal and he assured me that it was very common and that I would get over it. I found it very ironic that _I _was now the reason why Edward and I weren't getting intimate; God had a cruel, twisted sense of humor, I decided. However, I was determined to make that change. Tonight. I decided that I needed Rosalie's help, though, if I was going to do it.

I convinced Edward that I had something very important to ask Rosalie and he let me out of his sight. I really loved that he was being protective of me because it showed me that he cared about me. Edward had been very understanding and patient with me; he knew that I needed time to recover. That was one of the reasons why I was so determined to overcome the "last hurdle" so to speak. I walked to Emmett and Rosalie's room and knocked on the door, crossing my fingers that they weren't having sex.

"Hey Bella," Rosalie said as she opened the door, fully clothed I might add. "What do you need?"

"Um, is Emmett here?" I asked, my cheeks getting red thinking about asking Rosalie for advice about Edward in front of his brother.

"No," Rosalie said suspiciously. "Did you need him for something?"

"No," I told her. "I have a favor to ask you and I didn't want Emmett around."

"Oh okay," Rosalie said, opening the door wider. "Come in."

I walked in and sat on the bed with Rosalie. Part of me was grossed out because I knew that they were having sex on that bed, but I shook it off; I had more important matters on my mind.

"So what's up?" Rosalie asked.

"I want to have sex with Edward," I blurted out.

"I don't blame you," Rosalie said with a smile. "But aren't you worried about flashbacks?"

"That's what I came to you for," I told her. "I discovered that, if I initiate it, I don't have any problems. The only times where I freak out is when Edward starts taking charge and does something that reminds me of what happened to me. But I know I'm ready."

"Well, you know your limits more than I do," Rosalie said. "So I'll trust you when you say that you're ready. You say that if you start things then you are fine. In a way, that's a good thing; you can show him your hot, dominant side."

"But, Rose," I said. "I don't even think that I _have _a 'hot, dominant side.'"

"Well, I can give you some pointers," Rosalie offered with a smile.

Rosalie and I spent the next twenty minutes going over how to be "large and in charge," as she called it. She let me borrow some lingerie of hers to wear for that night in exchange for the promise that I would tell her all about what happened with Edward and me. We came up with some scenarios so I would be prepared for anything.

Edward had to go to work after lunch, so I decided that I would get everything ready for him then. I got in the shower and made sure to shave because I knew I would die if Edward saw me with hairy legs; not attractive at all. I put the lingerie on under my baggy shirt and sweatpants, hoping that it would surprise Edward even more to see that I was wearing something sexy under something that was so obviously not sexy. I pulled my hair in a ponytail because I knew that he liked to see my neck and laid on the bed, waiting for Edward to get home.

I heard his footsteps in the hallway and adrenaline was pumping through my veins. A million thoughts raced through my head - am I ready? Can I do this - as I heard the doorknob turning. I took a deep breath and put a smile on my face, hoping that it looked sincere.

"Hi Edward," I said as he opened the door. "How was work?"

"It was good," Edward said as he started taking off his business clothes. "Stressful, but good." I smiled internally at his response; it was exactly what I wanted him to say.

"Would you like me to give you a massage?" I asked him, my voice dropping as seductively as I could.

Edward nodded his head and I told him to get on the bed. Since he was only in his boxers I knew that getting him undressed would be no problem for me. He sat on the bed and I crawled up behind him and began rubbing his neck. I heard him sigh contentedly as I continued rubbing his neck.

"Does that feel good?" I asked him.

"Yeah," he sighed.

"Do you want me to make you feel even better?" I asked him. I placed a kiss on his neck, hoping that it would help get my point across.

"Bella, I don't think that you're ready," Edward told me.

"I'm always ready for you," I told him.

I pushed him down on his back and crawled my way up the bed so I could straddle him. I leaned down to kiss him, my hair brushing against his naked shoulder. He eventually succumbed to the kiss and responded enthusiastically. I wrapped my fingers in his hair and he put his hands on my hips. I ran my tongue over his lip, silently asking him for entrance and he complied. I moaned as I tasted his unique taste and a wave of lust took over my body. I felt the heat rush through my body and I was desperate to get my clothes off. I broke the kiss and took off my baggy shirt and threw it at the corner of the room.

"You've been wearing that all day?" Edward groaned as he took in the black lacy lingerie I was wearing.

"I wore it for you," I told him. "Do you like it?"

"I _love _it," Edward said before leaning up to kiss me again.

I began rubbing myself on the hardness that I could feel in Edward's boxers and we both groaned simultaneously. Edward placed his hands on my hips and slowly lifted them up my torso before palming my bra-clad breasts. I moaned at the feeling and leaned down to kiss his neck. The feel of my torso against his was indescribable and I didn't want it to stop. I sucked his earlobe into my mouth as he reached around my body to unhook my bra. I kissed him again as he began palming my naked breasts. I could feel my arousal seeping through the material of my underwear as he twisted my nipples gently.

"Edward, I want you," I said breathlessly.

I climbed off of him to take off my sweatpants and my underwear at the same time. Edward pulled down his boxers and I couldn't help the moan that I emitted as I drank in the sight of Edward's penis. I knew it was stupid to think, but it was beautiful. I lightly traced the vein before kissing the head and running my tongue over the bead of precum that had gathered there. I slid up his body and straddled his hips again.

"Are you sure?" Edward asked. I looked in his eyes and saw his conflicting emotions; lust for me and concern for me.

"I'm positive," I told him as I grabbed his penis and positioned him at my slick entrance. "I want us to be together."

Maintaining eye contact, I slowly lowered myself onto his length. We moaned loudly at the feeling of being connected physically - finally. Neither of us moved for a moment, allowing ourselves to drown in our connection. When my need became too much, I began rocking myself back and forth, moaning loudly at the sensations it created. Edward grabbed my hips and helped pull me up so I could slam myself back down.

"God, you feel so good," I moaned.

We moaned each other's names as we got closer and closer to our release. I picked up the pace, alternating between rocking back and forth and moving up and down. Edward thrust up in time with me and it allowed him to go deeper than he was going before. The pleasure quickly became too much for my body to handle and it succumbed to the power of the pleasure. I felt my walls clenching around him as I had the most intense orgasm I had ever had. I felt Edward cum right after me - the force of my orgasm was enough to push him over the edge - and we both moaned each other's names loudly as we rode the waves of pleasure. After I had finished my orgasm, my body felt like it had turned into a pile of goo and I fell on top of Edward. I buried my head in his neck and held him close.

"I love you," I told him.

"I love you, too," he responded.

We lay in our bed, our bodies spent from the intense round of lovemaking, for an immeasurable amount of time. I made no conscious decision to fall asleep, but my body decided that a nap was a good idea.

* * *

EPOV

I woke up in a complete state of bliss with Bella snuggled into my side, our naked bodies touching in the most innocent yet pleasurable way. Words could not describe how blissful I felt after finally making love with Bella. I never knew that it could feel like that; it never felt that way with Tanya. I fully intended on experiencing that with Bella again and again and again. I thought back to how it felt and everything that led up to it.

I was not expecting her to seduce me like she did. I knew that what happened to her was traumatizing so I never tried to instigate things for fear that she would have a flashback and/or shut down completely. However, I was all to happy to allow her to instigate the physical side of our relationship for the time being; it was the sexiest thing that my Bella had done. I was not expecting her to do what she did, and then I realized that she _planned _the whole thing. I could feel the blood start flowing to my dick and I tried to think about something else to make it go away. However, my mind had other ideas; it kept going back to our lovemaking.

I froze as I realized that we never used a condom. I was so in the moment - as was Bella - that I didn't even think to ask. Part of me wanted to wake Bella up and talk to her about it, but her face was so relaxed and peaceful in her sleep that I felt like a complete asshole for even thinking about it. I began thinking about the future consequences of my actions; Bella could get pregnant. I knew that, if she _did _get pregnant, she would never get an abortion unless there was something wrong with the pregnancy that would harm her and/or the baby; she wasn't Tanya. My imagination took over as I imagined Bella round with our child and was abruptly overwhelmed with the love and pride that was taking over my body. With that image, I realized that I was ready to have a child with Bella, ready to start our life together.

I began gently caressing Bella's arm, which was conveniently placed over my chest, as I continued thinking about what Bella's possible pregnancy could mean for us as a couple. Bella sighed contentedly in her sleep and snuggled closer to me - something which was an accomplishment considering how close she was in the first place. I lay in our bed - I loved being able to call it _our _bed instead of _my _bed - and held her close to me. She sighed my name in her sleep and I loved the feeling that it created inside of me. If I hadn't known how amazing being inside of her was, I would say that it was the most amazing, pleasurable feeling in the world. However, I _did _know how amazing being inside of her was and it was incomparable to anything - or anyone - that I had ever experienced.

My stomach began growling and I realized that I hadn't eaten any food since I left to go to work. Although I didn't want to do it, I gently woke Bella up. Her eyelids fluttered before they opened, revealing her gorgeous chocolate brown eyes. She stretched hugely, something that was ten times sexier because she was naked, and inched her way up the bed so she could kiss me. I kissed her gently for a few minutes before pulling away.

"I love you," were the first words out of my mouth.

"I love you, too," Bella said. "Thank you for finally being with me."

Part of me wanted to make a witty remark such as, "it was my pleasure...and yours," but our lovemaking was too intimate to me to joke around with. I was in the middle of telling her that I needed to get something to eat when her stomach began growling with her hunger.

"Oh no," I joked. "The Beast is back!"

"You know," Bella said. "One of these days, the Beast is going to crawl out of my body and get you..."

"Is that so?" I asked, an evil glint in my eyes. "Well, I know just what to do to stop that!"

I began tickling her sides and she began squirming and giggling against me which was making me laugh with her. Her movements did intresting things to the way our naked bodies were touching, effectively ending our inadvertant foreplay.

After our second round of lovemaking, we got our of our bed and put on our pajamas - there was no point in getting dressed in regular clothes so late in the day - and went downstairs to make ourselves something to eat. However, neither of us were expecting to see Alice standing there with her hands on her hips and her eyebrows raised.

"You smell like sex," were the first words that she said to us. "Spill. Now."

I could practically feel the blush that Bella was emitting and I could feel _my _cheeks getting a little heated. We weren't exactly planning on telling our family that we were being intimate because it would be awkward and it was really none of their business, but we both forgot how Alice could be; she wouldn't be okay with us not telling her. I let Bella tell her what happened as much as she could before I took over and explained the rest. The look on Alice's face changed from stern to elated as we told her what happened.

"I'm so happy for you guys," she said before pulling us into a hug. "Wait, did you use protection?"

I felt Bella's intake of breath as she realized that we didn't use a condom either time we had sex. I could practically hear the wheels turning in her head as she processed what happened. Alice and I gave her time to think about it, exchanging a significant look.

"No, we didn't," Bella finally said. "But I feel that whatever happens will happen. If I get pregnant, that would be wonderful. If I don't get pregnant, that would be great, too. I will be happy either way because I'm with Edward."

I wrapped my arm around her and kissed her forehead. The way she phrased it was perfect; I would also be happy either way because I was with Bella, the love of my life. Alice left us after giving us a hug and telling us that she loved us.

"Did you really mean that?" I asked, wanting confirmation.

"Of course," Bella said. "Is that okay? I mean, we haven't really talked much about having children -"

"Yes it's okay," I told her before she started rambling on. "More than okay, actually. The way you phrased it was absolutely perfect and I agree fullheartedly. I love you, Bella."

"I love you, too, Edward," Bella said before giving me a hug.

We decided to heat up a ready-made pizza because it sounded good and we were both too lazy to cook anything more elaborate. I heated up the oven while Bella went to our freezer to pull out the pizza. We worked together to get everything ready and I pulled the pizza out when it was finished. Bella grabbed the plates and got us both Cokes and I put two slices on each of our plates. We left the pizza out, figuring that Emmett would probably smell the pizza and devour the rest of it.

We went back to our room and relaxed for the rest of the evening, watching movies and eating our pizza. I was completely content with how my life was at that moment and I never wanted that to change. My life was perfect and I had Bella to thank for that.

She was my everything.


	42. Suprise! EPOV

**A/N Before I do my usual thanks, I must give a _HUGE _thanks to OhSoRadical. and jammieface for all of their help with my speech (and reviewing). You guys have seriously saved my life - and my speech grade - and I owe you BIG time! Thank you, thank you, thank you! You guys are so freaking amazing!!!!!! :D You helped me get an A! My teacher was impressed that I knew so much about the United Kingdom, so thank you. :D**

**Thank you to Sylvia Cullen (my offical 200th review! Yay!), lilquackers77, gasuz09, Bloody Ale, jammieface, DodgerMcClure,TwilightAddict71484 and deedee cullen for reviewing to last chapter. You guys make me smile. --- :D --- See? It's right there!**

**I must take a second to spazz. _YOU GUYS GOT ME UP TO 200 REVIEWS!!!_ Holy crap! You guys are beyond amazing - but you already knew that; I'm just stroking your egos. Thank you guys so much for helping me accomplish that. I love you guys! (Aw.)**

**So how many of you guys got New Moon on DVD when it came out? What do you guys think about it? Personally, I thought it was freaking amazing! I really enjoyed the 6-part documentary on the second disk; it's really good. I liked it a lot. :)**

**Disclaimer: Although our first and last names both equivalate to 14 letters, that doesn't make me Stephenie Meyer which means that I did not write Twilight or any of the awesome sequels. Sad face. :(**

EPOV

A month had passed since Bella and I had made love for the first time and I could not have been happier with the way that my life was going. Bella had finished her therapy - we kept in contact with Dr. Clearwater, still - and was thriving in all aspects of her life. She was loving her job at Twilight and she seemed so happy that she was literally glowing. I was so happy and proud of her for pulling through and moving on with her life; she was truely admirable and I loved her so much.

Working for the record label that I worked for was wonderful. I really enjoyed the flexibility that I had with it and that it allowed me to do something that I loved doing. Bella, of course, was my muse and I discovered that I was best at writing love songs. A few of my songs - obviously sung by other people - had made it into the Billboard Top 100 songs, so that was both humbling and exciting.

We eventually found a comfortable two bedroom, two bathroom house that was absolutely perfect for us. It had a large kitchen with granite tabletops, cherry stained cabinets and stainless steel appliances. The dining room connected the kitchen and the living room, making the room seem larger than it really was and had hardwood flooring. The living room was spacious and was built in a way that would allow us to have the perfect gathering place for our friends and family if we wanted to host a party or get-together. The master bedroom had a walk-in closet and it's own full bathroom, equipt with both a bathtub and a walk-in shower. The laundry room was on the second floor with the bedrooms, so doing laundry would be easy to do.

We were in the process of moving our things out of my parents house to our new home. Emmett and Jasper helped me with the big things and Rosalie, Alice and Bella helped with the smaller things. We were almost completely moved in; we needed to purchase two beds and our living room furnature and we would be offically moved in.

"Bella, we're going to have to christen our new house," I told her as we were packing our things.

"Yes," she agreed in a sly voice. "I do believe that we do."

Bella and my love life had been progressing wonderfully. Although I loved Bella initiating our lovemaking, I was ecstatic when she allowed me to take charge. The first few times I was nervous because I was afraid that she would shut down. However, she proved to be very enthusiastic to me being dominant, so I decided to go with it; why try to fight it? After our first two times of not using a condom, we made sure that we always had ample condoms nearby. The look on the person who ran the cash register's face was priceless as she looked at the two of us with baskets full of condoms. I couldn't help that I wanted to be prepared; we were insatiable.

We finished moving into our house and we made love on every surface of our home. The bed, the bedroom floor, the guest room, the bathrooms, the kitchen counter, the kitchen floor, the dining room table, the living room, the laundry room. If you named a place, I could almost guarantee that we had made love at least once on it. Of couse, we kept cleaning supplies around the house to clean up after ourselves; our guests wouldn't take to kindly to seeing evidence of our lovemaking.

I was so happy with the way my life was. I had a beautiful woman whom I loved, a great family, a stable career and great friends. I didn't think that my life could get any better. However, Bella managed to change that thought very quickly.

"I am pregnant," she told me after going to yoga with Rosalie and Alice one day. She didn't lead into it - there was no beating around the bush - she said it very simply.

"Are you sure?" I asked like an idiot; I was in shock.

"Yes, I'm sure," Bella said. "Rose, Alice and I went to get pregnancy tests after I told them how I hadn't been having a period for the last two months and I had constant backaches. They all said that I'm positive for being pregnant. You're not mad, are you?"

"Mad?" I asked incredulously. "I am elated! I am going to be a father! We are going to have a baby!"

I was beyond happy, actually. Just when I thought that my life could not get any better, it did. I knew that I was a lucky bastard and I didn't deserve any of it, but I was incredibly happy that it was happening to me. I was offically going to have the perfect life: the perfect woman - for me - the perfect house, the perfect job and now the perfect child. There was no word that I could use to describe how I felt at that moment. After the news had sunk in, I realized that I wouldn't have to use condoms with Bella anymore - something that I did many times after hearing our big news.

After we had finished our lovemaking, we both decided that we should have a dinner at the Cullen house and share our news with the rest of our friends and family. Bella told me that she made Rosalie and Alice swear that they wouldn't tell their significant others. However, we knew that they - specifically Alice - would have a very difficult keeping something so huge a secret, so we opted to have dinner at my parent's house that next day so we could tell them our news.

* * *

The next day, we were both extremely nervous to tell our friends and family. I knew that they would support us, but I was sort of afraid of their reactions. I knew that they would be very happy for us, but I was afraid that they would bring up the fact that we hadn't been together very long and that they thought that we weren't ready to be parents. I voiced my worries to Bella because I knew she would be able to help me calm down.

"Edward, you're overthinking this way to much," she told me with a small smile on her face. "Trust me when I say that they will support us completely; they love us. Please try to not worry. Everything will be great, I promise; I love you."

"I love you, too," I told her before kissing her gently. "Thank you."

We took separate showers - we knew that we would not be able to control ourselves if we were in the shower together - and finished getting ready. We decided to dress casually because we were - or rather _I _was - too nervous to do anything more than jeans and t-shirts. I finished getting ready and I looked over at Bella as she was doing her hair. I noticed that she did have a certain glow about her - something that I had written off as happiness as to how our life was going - that looked very fitting on her. She noticed me staring at her and she raised her eyebrow questioningly. I just shook my head and smiled at her and she reciprocated.

Bella was very adamant on making something for the dinner. She said something about not wanting to show up empty-handed. I knew that there was no stopping her when she set her mind onto something, so I let her. She ended up making her family recipe for hashbrown casserole because she thought that everyone would like it. I helped her whenever she let me, but she was stubborn and wanted to do it herself. Personally, I thought that she wanted to keep her family recipe a secret from me.

I drove us to my parents house and parked in my old parking spot. I got out of the car and ran to the other side so I could open the door for Bella who smiled at me shyly. Part of me wondered how long it would take for her to get used to my gentlemanly behavior. I smiled to myself as I realized that she would have forever to get used to the idea. We walked to the door and Esme was the person to greet us.

"Bella!" she said, giving her a hug. "I've missed you so much!"

"You too, Esme," Bella said.

"What am I? Chopped liver?" I asked jokingly.

"Silly Edward," Esme said with a smile. "Of course I've missed you, too."

She gave me a hug and walked us inside the house. It looked exactly the same as it always did which was very comforting to me. Bella put her dish on the kitchen counter and then we sat in the living room where Alice, Jasper and Carlisle were sitting.

"Bella," Alice said disapprovingly. "What in the world are you wearing?"

"Jeans and a t-shirt," Bella said, rolling her eyes before plopping down on the couch. "Does that bother you?"

"Yes!" Alice exclaimed exasperatedly. "You would think that at this point in your life, you would know how to dress yourself properly!"

"Ali bear," Jasper said. "Let Bella dress the way she wants to dress."

"Thank you, Jasper," Bella said gratefully.

We all laughed and talked casually as we waited for Rosalie and Emmett. We heard a loud pounding at the door and we all knew that Rosalie and Emmett must have arrived. Esme, the ever-present host, answered the door and greeted them the same way that she greeted us. They walked in the living room and greeted us excitedly. We got up and headed to the dining room to eat the food that we all brought. Esme went above and beyond and made a roast, mashed potatoes and vegetables. Alice and Jasper brought dessert - german chocolate cake - and Rosalie and Emmett brought macaroni and cheese.

"Emmett was begging for macaroni and cheese," Rosalie said when Alice asked her why she brought it.

The food was delicious and there was very little conversation going on at that point. As I was finishing up my food, Bella placed her hand on my thigh and rubbed soothing circles on it. I smiled at her - she knew me so well - and told her that I loved her. When I noticed that everyone was finished with their food, I decided to announce our big news.

"Bella and I have some big news to share," I said, looking at everyone at the table. They - with the exception of Alice and Rosalie - were looking at me with open curiousity.

"We're pregnant," Bella said with a huge smile.

"Congratulations!" everyone told us.

"How far along are you?" Carlisle asked.

"I believe I'm about a month or two into the pregnancy," Bella said. "I went with Rose and Alice to get pregnancy tests and they all said positive."

"Well you should probably get in to a OB/GYN's office," Carlisle said. "I could pull some strings at the hospital and get you a good doctor."

"That would be awesome," Bella said. "Thank you, so much."

"My pleasure," Carlisle said with a smile.

"We have to go shopping for maternity clothes and baby clothes," Alice said, barely containing her excitement at the prospect of shopping.

"Only if Rose comes with us," Bella said.

"Yay!" Alice said. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!"

The men cleaned up since the women had made the food for us. They went to the living room to chat while we washed the dishes and put the food away.

"So Edward," Emmett said. "You're gonna make me an uncle so young?"

"You would have been an uncle sooner if Tanya hadn't done what she had done," I blurted out.

"What?" everybody asked in unison. I realized in that moment that they didn't know what Tanya had done; only Alice knew.

"I guess I didn't tell you about that, did I?" I asked, running my fingers through my hair.

"No, you didn't," Carlisle said. "What happened, son?"

"It's a long story," I said. "While we were dating, she got pregnant and she didn't tell me about it until it was too late. She told me that she had had an abortion because she did not want to lose her figure. I had no say in the matter, which is why I became so recluse after we broke up. I wanted a child so badly and she took that away from me. It made me weary to trust anyone else after that. Alice eventually got the story from me, although it pained me greatly to talk about it. She convinced me to throw myself into something else - something that didn't remind me of her - so I became involved with Esme and her cooking. Through that, I met Bella and she has turned out to be the best thing that has happened to me. After I told her what happened, she convinced me to get therapy because I was obviously not over what happened. Dr. Clearwater helped a lot, but what happened to Bella at her apartment really made me put things into perspective. I realized that I can't change the past and that I need to focus on the future. And now I have a brilliant future ahead of me with a wonderful woman, a great job, and I will finally have a child with the woman that I am going to spend the rest of my life with."

"I'm proud of you, son," Carlisle said, putting his hand on my shoulder. "You have an inner strength that is so powerful that you have managed to pull through something that should not have happened to you and it's made you even stronger. You truely are a remarkable person."

He pulled me into a fatherly hug and I felt comforted and happy in that moment. It was an unbelievable feeling to have my father tell me that he was proud of me.

"I'm so sorry, dude," Emmett said in an uncharacteristically sympathetic voice. "I never knew that you were going through that. At least you have Bella, now."

"At least I have Bella," I repeated with a smile.

We finished cleaning up and headed to the living room where the women were chatting animatedly about the baby. I sat next to Bella and wrapped my arm around her. I smiled as she relaxed against me and sighed contentedly. We stayed for another hour before we decided that we were tired and wanted to go home. We made plans to have a family dinner every other week because we didn't like going so long without seeing each other.

I drove us home and I noticed that Bella had fallen asleep in the passenger seat. I pulled into our driveway and tried my hardest not to wake her up; she looked so peaceful sleeping. I opened her door and pulled her out gently. She stirred a little in my arms and then fell asleep again. I skillfully pulled out the key to the house and walked her up to bed. I knew that she wouldn't want to sleep in jeans, so I pulled out her favorite sweatpants and put them on for her. It was hard to resist the allure of her body, especially with the knowledge that she was carrying my child, but I knew that she needed her rest.

Since I was feeling tired, too, I decided to get undressed and go to bed, too. I got undressed and climbed into my side of the bed. I adjusted myself against Bella into a more comfortable position kissed her neck gently.

"Good night, Bella," I said. "I love you."

* * *

**A/N (part deux): So here's my question to you guys. Who do you want the OB/GYN to be? I want it to be someone in the Twilight world, but I'm unsure who I want it to be. So I decided to ask you guys. Either mention it in your review (those of you who review) or send me a private message. I take all of your opinions into consideration when I do things like this, so don't hesitate in giving me your opinion!**

**~Kaitlin**


	43. Bella's First Appointment

**A/N Before I go to my usual thank you for reviewing, I must say first that WE DID IT!!! You guys got me over 200 reviews and _I_ wrote more than 100,000 words in this story! When I first wrote this story, I wasn't planning on having it be more than 60,000 words but Edward and Bella seemed to have other plans on that matter. However, I think that I am going to stop at 45 chapters; any more than that feels like too much to me...I might post some outtakes after this story, but I'm unsure at this point. Feel free to give me your opinions on the matter (you know how much I love to hear from you guys).**

**As usual, I must thank F21496, DodgerMcClure, Sylvia Cullen, lilquackers77, deedee cullen, Dimirti'sLove2381, gasuz09, jammieface, Bloody Ale, KatherineGenavive, OhSoRadical., rockstr16, and Emmett's Angel 1935 for reviewing to last chapter. A lot of you gave me your opinions on who should be the OB/GYN and I loved all of them. I hope you like who I chose it to be. :)**

**Just an FYI, my Spring Break is going on right now, so I might not update very much; I'm going out of town with my friends! :D But I will try because I love you guys. :D**

**Disclaimer: As always, I'm not the brilliant mastermind behind Twilight; Stephenie Meyer has gratiously allowed me to play around with her characters. :D**

BPOV

The past few months had been both hectic and wonderful. We had finally moved into our house, I had finished my therapy, Edward and I were both thriving at our jobs, and we had a great group of family and friends who supported us and loved us. I had discovered yoga with Rosalie and Alice and we made a habit of going every Monday, something that I discovered that I loved to do; it helped me become more self-aware and in touch with myself in a positive way. My life seemed like it was finally perfect.

Then I started feeling really off. Not necessarily sick, but just weird. I was having constant backaches and my sleep schedule was messed up. I was starting to get worried; I had always had a very good immune system, so I did not get sick very often. I voiced my worries to Rosalie and Alice after it had been happening for little over a month after yoga one day.

"You might be pregnant," Alice said, looking at me with a speculating look. Rosalie and Alice both knew that I had been missing my period for two months, too.

"I thought that you were supposed to throw up a lot when you were pregnant," I said.

"Not necessarily," Alice told me. "Some women don't experience morning sickness at all. Your 'symptoms,' so to speak, all could be because you are pregnant. Have you and Edward had unprotected sex?"

I blushed furiously and nodded, unable to speak. I loved my friends to death, but I still did not like to talk about my sex life in front of them.

"Would you like to go get some pregnancy tests?" Rosalie asked me.

"Yeah," I told her. "I-I wanna know."

We stopped by a drugstore and purchased three pregnancy tests. I knew that it was a lot of pregnancy tests, but I wanted to be positive whether or not I was pregnant; I had heard the stories of pregnancy tests being falsely positive or falsely negative. After we purchased the pregnancy tests, we went back to Rosalie and Emmett's new house. Part of me felt awkward urinating on a stick, but I was more worried about finding out whether or not I was pregnant.

We waited impatiently to find out the results. Rosalie and Alice both tried to calm me down but they were both unsuccessful; I was too wound up. We waited the amount of time the box told us to and we all went to the bathroom to look at the pregnancy tests. We bought every type of pregnancy test that they had at the drugstore because we had seen the commercials that said "4 out of 5 women can misread a traditional pregnancy test." We each grabbed a pregnancy test and read the results aloud.

"Positive," Alice said first.

"Positive," Rosalie said.

"Positive," I finally managed to whisper.

I was in shock; I had never expected to be a mother so young. My emotions were at war with each other. On the one hand, I was extremely excited because I was carrying Edward's child and we would finally have the perfect life together. On the other hand, I was worried that I wouldn't be a good mother - like Renee - and that Edward would be mad. I couldn't decide which feeling was stronger, so I just sat there staring at the pregnancy test in my hand.

"Bella?" Rosalie asked worriedly. "Are you okay?"

I nodded my head, unable to speak. My head felt like it was spinning as I was still trying to sort through my emotions at that point.

"Here, let's get out of the bathroom," Alice said, grabbing the pregnancy test out of my hand.

We all walked to Rosalie's living room and sat on their couch. Rosalie took my hand in her's and Alice stroked my hair soothingly. They both seemed to understand that I was in shock and they were there for me. After a few minutes, I started crying heavily.

"Bella, what's wrong?" Alice asked with concern.

"I'm going to be a mother!" I sobbed.

"You don't want to be a mother?" Rosalie asked, her brow furrowing.

"No, I do," I told them. "I'm just so _happy_!"

They laughed and hugged me, congratulating me. We talked about the baby and ideas for names and the future shopping sprees that would invariably happen.

"Can you not tell Emmett and Jasper?" I asked them suddenly. "I want to tell Edward before anybody else knows."

"Of course," they chorused.

"How are you planning on telling him?" Alice asked.

"I was planning on just telling him," I said.

We hung out until we realized that it was starting to get dark; Edward would probably be wondering where I was. Rosalie drove me home and the girls wished me good luck. I smiled back at them and waved goodbye.

I walked into the house and looked for Edward. I found him laying on the bed watching television. I took a deep breath and told him that I was pregnant.

"Are you sure?" he asked me. He seemed to be in shock like I was when I found out.

"Yes, I'm sure," I told him. "Rose, Alice and I went to get pregnancy tests after I told them how I hadn't been having a period for the last two months and I had constant backaches. They all said that I'm positive for being pregnant. You're not mad, are you?"

"_Mad_?" he asked me. "I am elated! I am going to be a father! We are going to have a baby!"

His face was lit up at the idea of me being pregnant and I couldn't help but believe him. Then he realized that there was no need to use protection anymore since I was already pregnant. We made love several times after we realized that.

After we were completely spent from our lovemaking, we started talking about how we were going to break the news to our friends and family. We decided to call Esme and ask if we could have a dinner at her house. We didn't tell her why we wanted to come over, but she happily agreed. She told us that Carlisle had a day off from the hospital that day, so it would work out perfectly.

* * *

The next day, Edward was really freaking out over telling his family the news. I could completely understand where he was coming from - I was feeling the same way - but I told him that he needed to stop over-thinking it; our family would support us and be happy for us.

We took our showers seperately and got ready. While I was showering, I looked down at my flat stomach and I thought to myself how exciting it was going to be to watch my body change to accomodate the child within me. I smiled to myself at the thought; I could not wait. I got out of the shower and dressed casually for our dinner at the Cullen house. I felt bad that we had sprung the idea of a dinner on Esme, so I decided to make my family's recipe for hashbrown casserole. Edward wanted to help me, but I didn't want him to help; I wanted to do it myself.

Edward drove us to his parents house and parked in the garage. Being the ever-present gentleman, he ran out to open the door for me. One would think that I would be used to his chivalry at that point, but it still made me all fluttery inside. I carried the hashbrown casserole while we walked to the door. Esme greeted us warmly at the door and we walked inside. There was something very comfortable about seeing the Cullen house look the same; it always made me feel at ease.

We chat with Alice, Jasper and Carlisle while we waited for Emmett and Rosalie to show up to the Cullen house. It was difficult for me not to yell out that I was pregnant, but I somehow made it through. Emmett and Rosalie showed up and we all went to the dining room to eat. The food was absolutely delicious and there wasn't much conversation to be had. When I noticed that Edward had finished his food, I put my hand on his thigh and rubbed it soothingly; I knew how nervous he was to tell his parents that he was going to be a father.

"Bella and I have some big news to share," Edward said.

"We're pregnant," I told everybody.

Everybody congratulated us on our big news and Carlisle began telling me that he would be willing to pull some strings at the hospital to get me into a good OB/GYN. I was very thankful that he would be willing to do that for me. He assured me that it was no problem - he was glad to do it for me. I really admired Carlisle and thought of him as a father figure in my life; he was a great man.

We talked some more before going home. I wasn't sure if it was the pregnancy or just me, but I was completely exhausted. I didn't even remember going home - I must have fallen asleep in the car. I woke up in the middle of the night to find that I was in my favorite sweatpants and Edward's arm was wrapped around my waist. I smiled to myself and fell back asleep.

* * *

The next morning I called Carlisle to talk about my OB/GYN appointment. He told me that Dr. Zafrina Agave (**A/N I looked up Amazonian names and I found out that Agave means "high born." Since Zafrina is a OB/GYN in this story, I thought that the last name was appropriate. Plus, it's a pretty kick ass name in my opinion. :D)** would be more than willing to see me later that day. I thanked him profusely and told him that I would be in at three o'clock.

I went online and looked at information on what to expect at my first appointment. I did not want to be unprepared at my first OB/GYN appointment. I was actually looking forward to my first appointment; Carlisle told me that Dr. Agave was a wonderful woman who would put me at ease immediately.

Edward and I went out to lunch together at Steak 'N' Shake, which was more fun than I could have anticipated. Edward and I each got different milkshakes and had fun sampling each other's milkshakes. Then Edward got the brilliant idea that we should combine what was left of our milkshakes and make what he called a "penana milkshake" which ended up being a disaster. I tried telling him that a peanut butter cup milkshake and a banana milkshake would be horrible, but Edward was determined. At any rate, it was very amusing to the two of us and I had a lot of fun.

Edward drove me to the hospital for my appointment and he assured me that he would be there with me. That made me feel a little better that he wanted to be there with me. Edward parked in the parking lot and we walked into the waiting room. I couldn't stop my leg from bouncing as I waited to go to my appointment. Edward placed his hand on my thigh and rubbed soothing circles on it. I smiled at him and thanked him silently.

"Bella?" a nurse with carmel hair and a very welcoming smile asked to the waiting room. Edward and I got up and followed her to the room.

"My name is Carmen," she introduced herself. "You will probably be seeing me a lot as you go to your appointments."

She walked us to our room and told me to lay down on the mattress and Edward to sit on the chair. She gave me a gown to change into before she left. I changed and then we waited for a few minutes before Dr. Agave showed up. My first impression of Dr. Agave was awe. She was very statuesquely beautiful - like an Amazonian warrior. Everything about her was long, from her hair to her legs. I was slightly intimidated by her, but the moment she spoke, I was immediately put at ease.

"Hello Bella," Dr. Agave said. "I am Dr. Zafrina Agave, but feel free to call me Zafrina. So Carlisle tells me that you think that you are pregnant."

"Yes," I told her. "My friends and I bought some pregnancy tests after I had missed two periods and I had horrible backaches. They all said positive, so here I am."

"Well, I have some tests that I need to perform on you," she told me. "Just lean back on the mattress."

First, she did a pap smear to determine whether or not

"Is this your first pregnancy?" she asked.

"Yes," I answered.

"Have you had any surgeries or medical conditions that I need to know about?" she asked.

"Well, I had surgery on both of my forearms when I was eleven-years-old," I told her. "I also had surgery on my fingers when I was seventeen-years-old. Other than that, I don't think there's anything else."

"Do either of you know of any illness in your families?" she asked both of us.

"My Grandma Marie had breast cancer, but she overcame it," I told her.

"My Grandfather, Edward Sr. was an alcoholic," Edward told her.

"Well, Bella, you are young and healthy," Zafrina said. "Your medical history and your family's medical histories do not concern me very much. It sounds like this pregnancy will be a very successful one. Do you have any questions for me?"

"What do you think will be my due date?" I asked.

"Well, you said that you missed two periods," she said. "I would estimate that your due date will be sometime in June."

"Do you reccommend that I take prenatal vitamins?" I asked.

"Yes, I would reccommend it," she told me. "It will help the health of your baby and you if you take them."

"Edward, do you have anything to ask?" I asked him. He got a strange look on his face - somewhere between embarassment and lust - before he answered.

"Will it hurt the baby if we make love while she's pregnant?" Edward asked.

Zafrina smiled and said, "It will not harm the baby in any way. Might I reccommend that, when Bella's stomach starts to show her pregnancy, Bella be on top. It's safer for the baby because the pressure of your body on her's could be harmful to it."

"Any more questions?" she asked after neither of us had spoken. I shook my head and she told me that we were free to go. She left the room and I changed into my normal clothes.

"You know what sounds really good right now?" I asked Edward once we had gotten to the car.

"Many things sound good right now," Edward teased. "But since I can't read your mind, why don't you tell me?"

"I think that we should spend the night at home," I said. "Just relaxing and spending time with each other. After we have this baby, we probably won't have much time to ourselves, so I think we should make the most of the time we have now."

"I absolutely agree," Edward said before pulling out of the parking lot.

We drove home and did exactly what I said. Edward made us breakfast for dinner - one of my guilty pleasures - and we watched movies, made love, and talked about everything and nothing at all. It was perfect.

Everything was perfect...and I was going to make sure it stayed that way.


End file.
